Forgotten
by SueBeth88
Summary: Roslyn just wanted to find her mother. That's all. Wyatt wanted to disappear. But when he got his wish, it was not what he expected.
1. Chapter 1

"Enough is enough," I muttered to myself.

I was walking along the road to our home from the main part of the village. We had a nice sized cottage along the edge of the town. Surrounding it were woods and fields. Mother always liked the open feel to it, and it was close enough to town for father to run his business well. I usually enjoyed this walk very much. The trees lining the road were always my favorite and I loved to stop and look at them randomly. Today was different though.

Today I had heard enough to convince me that I needed to do something. Sitting around pretending like nothing had happened was maddening. Why would anyone do that?

Our cottage, if it could really be called that because it is much too big, was in sight. I could see father in his study on the third floor. He was facing away from the window and hunched over his desk. Katrina and Annalee must have been somewhere else in the house. It did not really matter to me. What mattered was that I knew where father was and this time he was going to listen to me.

I stormed through the front door. Normally that door was saved for guests. Mother always preferred us to use the side kitchen door, but today I was too focused to care. I noticed Katrina and Annalee in the sitting room. Annalee was busy working on the mending while Katrina was reading a book. It was a fairly typical sight. They both looked up startled when I rushed past them.

"Roslyn?" I heard Annalee's voice call after me, but I just ignored it.

I hurried up the stairs and soon found myself standing outside my father's office. I hesitated for moment. I knew that barging in would be rude and that father would never listen to me after that, so I knocked reluctantly on the door.

"Come in," my father's deep voice came from inside.

I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down then reached out and opened the door. My father was still sitting at his desk, hunched over. He looked so much older these days. It seemed as if the world had finally defeated him. His face was wrinkled and scrunched with worry. His usually bright blue eyes seemed dull as they looked over all the papers spread out in front of him. He sat as a man defeated and that infuriated me. How could he act so beaten? Is he not going to fight anymore?

"Father," I said trying to stay as calm as possible. I think he could tell that I was upset because he looked up startled.

"Roslyn, my beauty," he said with a smile. I cringed at his nickname for me. I had always hated it, and of course I knew that he only used it when he wanted to calm me down.

"We must do something. It has gone on long enough!" My voice was sterner than I had wanted it to be, but it was better than yelling.

"How many times must we have this conversation?" he sighed. His shoulders slumped further. It looked like he wanted nothing more than to avoid this topic. Again.

I glared at him. "As many times as we need to until you realize that I am right. How can you just sit there and do nothing?"

"Roslyn," he said gently, trying to warn me that it was useless.

I was nothing like him though. I would never give up. Never. "Father," I countered with as much venom in my voice as I could manage. I wanted it to be perfectly clear that I did not think he deserved that title.

"What happened?" Annalee's came from behind me. It was soft and sweet, as always.

I turned to look. Annalee was standing just inside the doorway. Her red hair was pulled back into a delicate knot. Her freckles looked a little sharper in the light of the setting sun in the window. Her blue eyes looked soft and concerned. Katrina was standing on the other side of the doorway, glaring at me. Her blue eyes were sharp and fierce. Her blonde hair was in an elaborate hairstyle and there was not a blemish on her face. She had an awful scowl on her face though.

"What do you mean?" I asked trying to act like there was nothing new to bother me.

"Roslyn!" Katrina snapped. "You expect us to believe that nothing happened today?"

"Does it matter if there was something that happened?" I retorted. I hated when Katrina talked down to me. She may be my oldest sister, but that did not mean that she has a right to talk to me like I am a child.

"You just seem to be extra irritated today," Annalee said quietly, not making eye contact with me. She was looking anywhere but at me.

I sighed. I suppose they had the right to know. There was really no reason for me not to tell them. "Sarah is gone."

Annalee gasped. She quickly looked up at me and started to reach for me. I turned away from her to glare at my father. Annalee reached my side and placed her hand on my shoulder. She knew that I hated pity. There was no reason to act like that.

"She ran away then?" Katrina asked hotly. "I always knew she would one day."

"No!" I yelled. I turned to glare at my sister. She always seemed to say just the right thing to hurt me. I never understood why, but I was not going to listen as she talked that way about my best friend.

"Roslyn," my father said calmly from his desk. He still had not looked up from his work. He was used to similar displays from his daughters and it no longer affected him like it used to. Now he knew it was better to act like it was not happening at all. "Calm down."

My eyes stung at the rebuke. I did not need to calm down. What I needed to do was to go out and do something. I was about to respond when my father continued talking and looked up from his papers to give us all a look that clearly meant to not talk.

"Katrina, you need to be more sensitive to your sister. Sarah is her best friend." His voice sounded tired. "Now, Roslyn," he turned to look at me. His eyes looked so sad. "Tell me what happened."

I sighed. I had hoped to not relive this moment, but I suppose it could not have been helped. Of course my family would need an explanation. "I was in town selling the peas we harvested yesterday. Grant came over to talk to me. He does every time we both are in town. We were talking and I asked him where Sarah was. She usually came into town with him."

Annalee was watching me intently. She looked like she might start crying. I knew that it would of course, be because she was worried about me and not because she was actually sad. Katrina was staring at her nails like they were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. My father was looking at each of his daughters. It was clear that he was trying hard to be the authority in the room, but conversation just never caught his attention any more.

"That was when he started acting weird. He started to avoid my questions. Of course I forced him to tell me. He said that she had been gone for a week! A week! And they have no idea where she is. From that point on it was exactly as I thought it would be. There was no note. Nothing was missing. It was like she just disappeared. And the worst part is that they have no plans to do anything!"

I was at the point of tears. I was so frustrated with everyone. Every single person in this town had a problem. They were all so complacent.

"Roslyn," Annalee said quietly and wrapped her arms around me. She did not say anything else. I knew exactly what she was trying to say with that hug. She was telling me she was sorry. Sorry that there was nothing anyone could do.

I hung my head. I did not want to accept that. It was too simple to just give in to defeat. We had to keep fighting. I knew that. Why did no one else see that too?

"There is nothing we can do. You know that. We have had this conversation countless times." My father was tired of me.

"I refuse to accept that." I murmured.

"What would you have me do?"

"Something! Anything! We cannot just sit by and watch as those dear to us disappear!" I retaliated. Tears were flowing freely from my eyes now. I did nothing to try and stop them.

"This is just like when mother left," Katrina sighed. "You are refusing to see the obvious. Will you please come back to us? You cannot keep living in these dreams."

I looked up sharply at her. Her expression was blank. I have no idea how she can do that, but she has always been skilled at hiding her emotions. She was looking at me now. Her blues eyes cold. I quickly looked away. I did not want to see how everyone around me had given up.

"It has been three weeks. Surely you must realize that something is not right now. Mom would never be gone that long without telling us. Something happened. We have to find out what happened." I said as I sunk into an armchair in front of my father's desk. I placed my elbows on my knees and covered my face with my hands.

"How?" Katrina asked directly. "How do you expect us to do anything? There was no note, no clues. Nothing. She left and we just have to deal with it."

"Roslyn," my father said as softly as he could, "It is not like we do not want to know what happened, there just is not anything we can do."

"It will all work out," Annalee said from beside me. She was rubbing my back, trying to comfort me.

"How? How is it going to work out?" I questioned. I had been asking the same questions for weeks, and still no one had an answer for me. I wanted someone to tell me what to do, because I knew that I had to do something.

"Is it not enough to know that it will?" my father asked softly. He was tired of this conversation. It showed in his face and in his voice.

"No! I have to do something!" I yelled. "Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Roslyn..." Annalee reached to give me another hug.

"No," I said and brushed her off. She looked a little hurt, but did not say anything.

Katrina gave me one last condescending look and said, "I have nothing else to tell you. Grow up and deal with it."

I bristled at her statement. I did not understand how I was considered the immature one here. I was at least trying to change something. Everyone else was just dealing with it by pretending it did not exist. How that was considered the mature approach eluded me. Maturity did not mean that you ignored things around you. It means that you take what you have and do something about it. That was what I was trying to do.

Katrina turned and left the room without another word. Her fancy dress made swishing sounds as she walked. I always hated those fancy dresses. Our family could not afford them any more, yet Katrina always insisted on wearing them. They made it impossible for her to do housework like the rest of us. I hated how she thought she was so much older and wiser than me and that made it okay for her to be lazy. I just could not stand her. I wanted to yell all of that at her as she disappeared down the stairs, but something stopped me. It might have been that I was still sobbing and did not have the strength to yell anymore, but I think it was more likely the look that Annalee was giving me.

Annalee's eyes were soft and filled with tears too, although she did not succomb to sobs like me. She was looking at me as if she needed to take care of me. Like I was some hurt animal that had wandered in the house and was lashing out at everyone because I was scared. I hated that look too. Though I was never able to say it. It made me feel like a child and I hated it. I hated how my older sisters were only one year apart and I was stuck on the bottom three years younger than Annalee. They always acted like they knew so much more of the world than me, when really I was the one who understood better than them.

I was the one who grew up having nothing. I always had to work. Luxury was never an option for me. I understood how cold and hard the world could be so much more than them. Yet, they always insisted on looking down on me. I hated that.

I turned away from her gaze. I could not bare to see it anymore. I listened as Annalee stood up from her position on the floor next to me and say, "I have mending I need to get done." She silently left the room.

I looked up to see my father looking at me. He had a question on his face, but I could tell that he was not going to ask it until I said something. I was breathing normally again and my tears had mostly stopped. I wiped my eyes then said, "I have to do something, is that so hard to understand?"

My father sighed. "Roslyn, sometimes there is nothing we can do. You have to realize that."

"We are the ones who write our destiny. You taught me that when I was little father. I thought that meant that we always have a choice." If I had to use my own father's logic to make him understand, then I would.

"Yes, but at this moment you have a choice. You have a choice to worry about something outside your control or to worry about the things that are inside your control. There are always going to be things that you think are unfair." He shook his head. "Look at me. My life has been nothing but unfair lately."

"Is that what the problem is?" I snapped. "You feel sorry for yourself so want me to feel the same? I refuse to do that!"

He sighed again. "You misunderstand me. I just want you to choose to be happy. Why must you dwell on the unhappiness in life?"

"Because I am going to do something about it," I said as I stood up from my chair. I glared at my father for a moment, daring him to tell me again that there was nothing I could do. Then, I turned quickly on my heels and walked briskly from the room. As I walked through the doorway I said, "Even if you will not."

I stomped down the stairs and back out to the garden. Katrina and Annalee were back in the front room where I had first seen them. They both looked a little gloomier, but were doing their bests to pretend like the conversation upstairs had not happened at all.

Once I was out in the garden I started weeding as quickly as I could. This was my mother's garden. She was the one who thought it would be best to grow a garden when my father's business fell. My mother and her garden were the only reason my family was still where they were. If she had not risen to the occasion, we would have been homeless on the streets. Being in the garden made me feel close to her.

"Momma? Why do you always work in the garden every day?" I was nine years old at that time.

She answered me frankly. That was one of the things I loved about my mother. She never lied to make anyone feel better. Honesty was the best policy to her. "Because I must work here or you will not have anything to eat for dinner. Besides, I think the plants would get lonely without me. See?"

She lifted a wilting leaf on the tomato plant and held it up in the sky for a few seconds. When she moved her hand away, it was like the plant had gained new life. I always thought she was magic. Now that she was gone, there was no one to talk to the plants, so I did. I would wander through the garden and tell them all how beautiful I thought they were. I knew that there was no way I was as good as her, but I was going to try. I would hate to see my mother come home to see her precious garden had wilted and died.

Being in the garden made me feel close to her. It made me think about all the times I had growing up. It also made me realize that she would never leave without telling us. And even then, I was not so sure that she would leave even if she had told us. She loved this house, and this garden and she loved us. She would never abandon us. I hated everyone that thought she had.

I had calmed down enough to think about what I was going to do. In the morning before everyone was awake, I was going to leave. I would leave a note, of course. I did not want anyone to think that I had abandoned anyone. I still was not sure where I would go, but I knew that I was going to go somewhere. Anywhere. I would start with my mother's favorite places and go from there. Surely something would lead me to her.

"Roslyn. It is time for dinner," Annalee's voice called from the kitchen door. I must have been out gardening for a few hours without realizing it.

"Alright. I will be right in. Just let me wash." I replied. I stood up and brushed off my apron. I looked down at my hands. They were filthy, so I walked over to the well that was just on the other side of the garden and drew a bucket of water. I used that water to scrub my hands and face. I used the back of my apron to dry myself off and headed back towards the house.

Outside the door and hung my apron on a hook and wiped my shoes on the rug then entered the kitchen. It smelled lovely. Annalee had made some fresh bread for dinner with some stew made from the leftover beef from the dinner before. I loved stew.

I walked through the kitchen and into the dining room. Father, Annalee and Katrina were already seated. I looked at the empty chair that mother used to sit at and tried to hold back my tears. It would not do to show my family how upset I still was. Annalee served us all plates and we all ate quickly. We ate in silence. The tension was thick in the air. I could tell that Katrina had not forgiven me because she would not look at me. Annalee was still worried about me because she kept stealing glances at me. I tried to ignore both of them and just concentrate on my food. It was tedious and made dinner feel like it was hours long, even if we were really only there for fifteen minutes.

Once I had finished eating my meal, I rose from the table silently. I paused for just a moment, debating about whether I should say something to them, but quickly decided silence was better. Anything I would say at this point would just make everything worse.

Katrina and Annalee continued eating and did not make any indication that they saw me leave. I knew that I was being unfair to them, but I could not help it. We had to do something. Sitting around waiting for anything to change was just not going to work. Waiting never did.

Once I was able to think about what was around me, I realized that I was out by the old oak tree at the edge of the woods behind our house. This was my place. It was where I went whenever I was upset, happy or even just bored. If anyone wanted to find me, this was the place where they should look first. I loved this tree. It was old and knotted. The branches hung very low and made it easy to climb up into the branches.

I latched onto the closest branch and swung myself up into the lowest leaves. I loved sitting here. The branch curved naturally to make a perfect seat for me. I would often bring my books out here and read in the tinted light. I loved how the leaves would make everything look green. And in the fall the leaves would turn into the most brilliant orange. This was my safe place. I could always feel at peace here.

"Why, if it isn't a little monkey in a tree? What are you doing up there little monkey?" a voice called up to me.

I sat up a little startled and wobbled for a moment. I was not as small as I used to be and maneuvering in the tree had become much more precarious. I looked down to my left and saw a man standing below me. His head was only about a foot below me. I had not climbed that high.

"Grant! What are you doing here?" I asked shocked to see the older brother of my best friend.

"I came to see how everyone was doing. I know that I sprung some bad news on you today. I hope it hasn't caused too much of a problem." His green eyes looked concerned. His black hair was just as messy as ever and he had grease and soot marks all over his face. He looked so much like Sarah. It made me want to cry.

"Everything is just fine," I said flatly. I was sure he would hear the lie in my voice, but I could not just tell him that I was upset. That would be admitting that I might be overreacting just a little.

"Roslyn," Grant said with a little sterner of a voice, "You know I can always tell when you lie to me."

"It really is fine. There is nothing to do about it anyways," I said. The bitterness in my voice was clear, even to me. I needed to get control of myself soon. If I kept it up like this everyone would be able to see how distraught I was.

"Is it just about Sarah?" Grant asked softly. I could hear the hurt in his voice too. He was just as confused and lost as I was. He was just better at pretending like life was going to continue.

"No!" I almost shouted at him. I startled him and myself. I had not expected myself to sound so upset. "No," I repeated a little softer and calmer. "No one will do anything. It is almost like they don't care. Why am I the only one who cares?" At this point I was almost crying again.

"Roslyn," Grant said my name firmly. He looked up at me with eyes filled with pain and passion. "Stop that this instant."

I reeled back a little at his command. He hardly ever told me what to do. Throughout all the years, he had just been there watching as his little sister and I would go on our adventures. He would go along with whatever we wanted and never complained. I was not used to Grant being so commanding.

"You are not the only one who cares. How could you think that?" Grant shook his head in anger. Then he looked back up at me and I could see a few tears glistening in the corner of his eyes. "We all care. So much. We just are mature enough to realize that there isn't always something we can do. We must continue our lives. If we don't, then others will suffer. We care. Just as much as you. Don't ever, ever, accuse someone of not understanding."

I was in shock. No one had ever really spoken to me like that. I had been lectured plenty of times in my life, but no one had ever done it quite like this. He was not talking down to me. He was talking to me like an equal. Someone who could relate to him. He needed me to be there for him. To comfort him. And I was being selfish and complaining about my problems.

"I am so sorry," I whispered. I hid my face in shame. Sorry was all I could say to him, yet I wanted to say so much more. I wanted to tell him that I would fix it. I wanted him to be happy again. I wanted to be happy again. But how could I tell him all that? It would only sound childish.

"I know," Grant said. He smiled a little smile up at her and then said, "It will be okay Roslyn. I know it will. I have to believe that because if I stop believing that, there is no point moving on."

I looked up at him again in shock. I could still see the sadness in his eyes, but this time he had determination there too. He was doing something. How could I not have seen this before? Annalee and Katrina were the same. They were believing. It was just a little, but it was enough for them. I could see that, but why was that not enough for me? Why did I feel this burning need to do something? I nodded my head to show him that I understood.

He smiled and then said, "Is Annalee home? I wanted to see how she was doing today?"

I smiled back. "Of course she is home. You should go see her. I'm sure she will be happy to see you."

He blushed a little then turned towards the house. He did not say any more. He did not have to. He had already given me so much to think about. Grant was such a nice man. I had grown up with him. Sometimes it surprised me how much he understood the world. He was only a year older than me, but sometimes it seemed like he had grown up so much faster. It was probably because he had to take over the family blacksmith shop when he was sixteen.

About a year ago he had started to come to the house more, but it was not for Roslyn. Roslyn was always too busy with something so he started to talk with Annalee. Now they had a fast friendship that made so much sense to Roslyn. Annalee and Grant were both very sweet tempered and quiet. It made sense that they were friends. Roslyn thought it was sweet that they had found each other. Thinking about it made her miss Sarah though. And that was a dangerous topic. She still did not feel comfortable with how things were. She wanted to change something. Anything. Just as long as she was doing something.

"What am I going to do?" Roslyn murmured to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

"How did I get here? This is ridiculous," I muttered to myself.

The trees all around me were rustling in the wind. Birds were chirping around me and everything seemed completely normal. I had a small bag draped over my shoulder. In the bag was enough food for two days. I had no idea what I would do after that ran out. I was hoping that it did not come to that.

I had left early in the morning. No one had awoken for the day yet. The world had seemed so calm and peaceful. It was so contrasting to the inner turmoil that I felt that it had made me feel more panicked. I had spent almost all night thinking. That was my problem. I could never shut my brain off. I was always thinking.

That thinking had led me here. I had to admit that. But what was I doing here? The whole situation was laughable. I would return home and my whole family would laugh at how irrational I was behaving.

I stepped over a log and slipped just a little. I caught a branch on a nearby tree to steady myself. I paused for just a moment and looked around. I had been here before. I could feel it. Yet, I had no recollection of this place. No memories. Just a feeling.

I was being silly. Why had I decided to leave home on a whim like this. I knew that I needed to do something, but a plan would have been so much better. I should have actually thought things out. Impulses were just going to lead me to trouble. I sighed and started to walk forwards again.

There was a path in front of me. It looked rather worn down, as if someone took this path often, but it was deep in the cursed forest. No one would have dared to travel this direction from the town. Perhaps it was a deer trail. No. Look. Boot prints. On the side in a dried up mud puddle. People used this path. That was clear. But who?

I kept walking, hoping that something would become clear to me, when I suddenly found myself at the edge of a magnificent field. The trees had opened up so suddenly, I knew that the field had to be maintained by people. Trees and fields did not grow so sharply against each other.

The field was filled with beautiful flowers. Blue, purple, yellow and pink. They blew softly in the wind. On the far side of the field was a fence. It was too far away to see what the fence looked like, but I could tell that it was finely made. It was not shabby like so many in the kingdom were. I could see the fence curve around to the right behind some trees. The field followed the same curve. The sense that I had been here before was stronger than ever.

I needed to see what was beyond those trees. So I took off through the middle of the field. I picked a few flowers as I walked and held them to my face to take in their sweet aroma. They were some of the sweetest smelling flowers. They reminded me of my mother. She always smelled of wild flowers. It must have been because of all the gardening she did. I smiled to myself as I walked across the field.

As I came to the curve a rush of excitement overcame me. I suddenly felt like all my questions were going to be answered. Running away from home would all be worth it once I saw what was beyond those trees.

I stretched my neck as far as I could as I rounded the corner. Suddenly I saw one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen. It was built of a thick red wood. The sides were all carved and decorated with roses. The roof stood high above the ground and was covered with thin sheets of a darker wood. I looked a little closer and saw that the building was a stable. I could see rows of horses through the open windows.

I could not contain myself anymore, I ran to the left side where I was sure a door would be. I ran my hand along the delicate designs carved into the beams. I was fascinated by the details. Who would spend so much time on a stable for horses? I looked into stables and at first I could not see very much. It was too dark. I took a tentative step inside and let my eyes adjust to the darker room.

I gasped when I finally was able to take in the entire scene. There were eleven beautiful stalls. Five on either side of me. And then, at the end of the stables was a very large, very elaborate stall. Each stall had a name plate above it. Hanging to the side of the stalls were a saddle and bridle for each horse. The horses each had a barrel of oats in front of them. Each had a set of brushes and cleaning equipment. Whoever owned these horses loved them very much. And, he must be rather wealthy, I thought.

I wandered down the stalls until she was at the last stall. She looked at the nameplate above the stall. "Sliverlight?" I asked softly and looked into the stall. There was the most beautiful horse I had ever seen. He was tall. Very tall. At least a good three feet taller than me. He had the shiniest silver coat I had ever seen. It was easy to see where he got his name from. His mane was pulled back into a few thick braids. I could not tell if that was for beauty or to keep it out of his face while in the stall.

I clicked my tongue to see if I could get him to come to me. He looked up at me with intelligent eyes. They were a piercing blue and I could tell that this horse was extremely loyal, and that it would not be a good thing to get on his bad side. I grabbed an apple from a barrel just a few feet away and held out my hand to offer it to Silverlight.

"What are you doing here?" a man's voice called from the entrance.

I jumped and dropped the apple. Silverlight snorted and bent down to quickly chomp down on the apple and eat it whole. I spun on the spot and stared at the man standing in the entryway.

He was not very tall. Only a few inches taller than me. He was rather skinny. It was like he was just skin and bones, although he looked healthy enough. It was not like he was too skinny, just much skinnier than I was used to. He had grey hair that was beginning to thin on the top of his head. He was wearing clothes unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was a suit, much like my father's. But the strange thing was that it was a bright purple in color. And there were ruffles along the collar. It was almost as fancy as Katrina's dresses. It look peculiar on a man.

"I... I..." I tried to say something, but found that I had lost my voice to shock.

'What are you doing here?" the man demanded again. He seemed very uncomfortable. It was almost like I had startled him more than he had startled me. He did not raise his voice, but by his tone, it was clear that he was used to being answered quickly.

I swallowed to see if that would help and then finally managed to squeak, "I just happened upon this beautiful stable. I had to come and see the inside." It was a poor excuse. I knew that, but I had to tell him something, and I was not going to tell him about how I had ran away from home. That would surely cause him to throw me out or punish me.

"Excuse me?" the man asked shocked. He clearly had not expected me to say something along those lines. This was strange, my excuse might have seemed a little flat, but that did not mean that it was not a common enough answer. People often used getting lost to explain why they were somewhere they should not have been.

"I stumbled upon this beautiful stables. I am terribly sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused you." I explained it again and apologized this time.

He was still giving me a blank look. Like I had said that I had fallen from the sky. "That is impossible."

"Impossible?" I asked confused.

"People cannot just come here. No one can. What am I supposed to do?" he trailed off talking to himself. He was strange. That much I could tell. I was not sure that he was completely sane either. Why would it be so impossible to just find a stable in the woods?

"Whether it is possible or not, I did just happen to find myself here. I was wandering through the woods. Could you tell me where I am? I did not think such a place existed in our kingdom. Have I actually travelled to another kingdom without knowing it?" I was hoping that if I asked a few questions he might actually give me some information.

I was wrong. He just gave me a confused look, then suddenly his face cleared to show no emotion and he said, "My master will want to see you. Follow me." Then he turned on his heels and was walking briskly along a path that went to the right out the door.

"Wait!" I cried. "Wait!" But when it became clear that he would not stop for me, I ran after him. He would not talk to me the rest of the walk. No matter what I asked him. It was infuriating me.

"I am going home. This is ridiculous. I should not be following you," I declared and then turned to head back down the path towards where I had come from.

"No!" the man cried out suddenly. It had been so long since he had said anything to me that it startled me. "You must see my master. He will explain it, if he wishes you to understand."

I turned and looked at him, raising my eyebrows. Could this man get any stranger? "Who is your master?"

The man grimaced a little, as if that was the one question he did not want to answer. He then gave me a look that made me shudder a little. It was too intense for what he said. "He is the man who owns this castle."

I looked around and strangely, for the first time, I noticed a large castle towering over the hill we were walking up. I was beautiful and magnificent, yet at the same time it was sad and dismal. It was falling apart everywhere. The trees had overgrown all along the right side of the castle. There was even an apple tree that had started to grow into one of the second story windows. I could tell that the castle had once been quite grand but now it was just sad to look at. It was crumbling in all sorts of places.

I gasped a little in shock and the man leading me to the castle gave me a sad little smile, but then he turned and just kept walking towards the main entrance. He had almost reached the door when I realized that he was so far ahead of me. I ran to him as fast as I could.

Breathing heavily I stopped just behind him. I had a million questions to ask him, but I needed to catch my breath first. "What... is... this place?" I asked trying to speak even though I was winded from the run up the hill.

Again, the man just turned to look at me. I was getting used to this look. It clearly said that he was not going to tell me and I needed to stop asking. It was strange though. I could almost see a hint of hope behind his eyes, but I was not sure what in the world he could be thinking. He was such a strange man. I still was not sure why I was following him to this ruined castle.

He pushed open the door but blocked my view of the inside. "Please stay calm. No matter what you see." His voice was less demanding as before. Now it just sounded pleading. It was as if he wanted me to be different. Different from what? I had no idea, but I was sure that I would not be what he expected. I never was.

"Alright," I agreed softly. I was not really sure what to say besides that. I wanted to reassure him. Again, I was unsure as to why, but I still felt the need to comfort him anyways.

My agreement seemed to be enough for him and he walked forward into the castle. I followed closely behind as he entered the castle. I did not really look around that much at first. Something about it frightened me. It was hard to explain, but there was a weird feeling about the castle. The man showing me around did not help. He was just as weird as I felt the castle was. Once I did look around though, I was completely shocked.

The inside was the exact opposite of the outside. As much as the outside looked decrepit and falling apart, the inside was pristine and in perfect condition. I looked around amazed. Where the windows had been broken on the outside, they were solid without a single crack in them. The stain glass windows above all shone with all their colors. Nothing looked faded. The walls were whole. The furniture was shiny and polished.

"What happened here?" I asked startled.

The man grimaced at my question. "Magic," he said simply.

I pulled back from that word. "What?" Magic was not used in our kingdom. We shunned everything to do with it. I had never heard of any magic being used anywhere near my home. Here was a castle not even a days walk away that had some sort of spell on it. How did I find this place and what was I still doing here?

"Just as I said. It's magic. Plain and simple," he turned to look at me. He gave me a little sad smile and then continued up the stairs in front of us. He gestured for me to follow, but did not offer any other explanation.

I shook my head in hopes that I might wake from whatever strange dream this was. When everything stayed the same, I quietly followed the man up the stairs. I no longer wanted to ask anything else. I no longer wanted to understand. If this all had to do with magic, all I wanted to do was run away and get as far away as I could. Yet, I still followed that man. I had no idea what made me do it, but at this point I was too involved to just leave. I had to stay and get some answers, even if they scared me.

I was led up two more flights of stairs and through countless hallways. I had lost my sense of direction and was sure that I would not be able to find my way out again without assistance. This made me uncomfortable. It gave me the sense that I was a prisoner now. I tried to shake the feeling as I looked around me. All the hallways had tapestries hanging on the walls. Each had a theme of roses.

That was strange. My mother had grown roses in her garden, but she had never seen anything quite so dedicated to the beauty of a single flower. As they walked they passed many rooms. One looked like a large throne room. It had small seats lining the walls and a large throne placed at the center of the far wall. It looked like no one had used that room in ages. Other rooms were smaller and contained small details. I saw a few libraries. A music room. A few bedrooms. Some of the doors were closed and I had no idea what could be hidden behind those doors, but I never got up the courage to ask. I was just beginning to worry about where this man was leading her when he stopped in front of a rather dull door.

The door was made of a light colored wood and there were no adornments at all. The handle was simple cast iron. It was not the type of door I thought would be on the room where the master of the castle would be. I expected something more like the throne room we had passed by just a few minutes ago.

"Wait right here. I will announce you to the master," the man said and then disappeared into the room.

I stood patiently for just a few seconds. I never was good at waiting. A window to my left caught my eye. I walked over to it and looked down. We were higher up than I thought we should have been. We had to be on the fifth floor level, but we had only climbed two staircases. I craned my neck around to see why that was. I noticed that we were towards the back of the castle and that the castle was built on a hill. The front entrance was higher than the back entrance. Directly below me was a beautiful garden.

It looked so out of place among all the overrun grounds around it. It was kept in perfect condition. The bushes were trimmed expertly. There were roses of every color. In fact, the entire garden was roses. I could not see any other flowers among the roses at all. What was it about roses here?

"Miss," the man had returned but I had not noticed. "The master will see you. I need to explain a few things to you before you enter the room."

I turned to look at the man. He was still looking very forlorn, but he seemed a little more relaxed. He must have been afraid what his master would say. "What is it?"

"This may seem strange to you, but what hasn't..." He muttered the last part. I was sure he was hoping that I had not heard him.

"Yes?"

"The master does not like to be seen. You will enter the room and notice a curtain pulled across the floor. The master will stay behind it while you speak to him. Do not attempt to get around the curtain or ask him to come out. It will only make things worse. Please just..." He paused and gave me a weird look. I was not really sure what to think about it. "Just don't get offended. He is much kinder than he'll want you to believe."

I raised my eyebrows in confusion. This castle just could not get any stranger. I nodded showing that I understood, but did not say anything else. The man swept his arm through the air, gesturing me to go ahead and enter the room. I inhaled, gathered my courage and marched into the room with my head held high.


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you doing here?" a man's voice came from the other side of the room.

I took a moment to look around me. The room was plain. There was a while couch that had a few windows behind it. The windows had basic red curtains. There was a fireplace to my right. Besides the couch there was a few wooden chairs and a small table. On the table was a book. It had a tasseled bookmark hanging from it. The strangest part about the room was the red curtain that hung halfway across the room.

Because of what the other man had said, I knew that was where the master was sitting. I also knew that it would not be worth my time to try and look around it. I was curious though. Very curious. It took most of my willpower to not run and look around it right now.

"Can you not hear me? I asked what you were doing here?" the man's voice sounded again. His voice was sweet sounding, even if his words were not very kind. It was almost like the sound you would expect maple syrup to have. Dark and deep, but sweet.

"I was walking through the woods. I happened to come upon your stables," I explained simply. Because his questions were so direct, I assumed he would want direct answers.

"That is impossible."

It was strange to talk to a curtain. Normally I would be looking at someone's face and determining how I should behave on his facial expressions. Here I was forced to rely purely on the tone of voice. And from the very beginning this man had questioned me without so much as a greeting. I was so complete unsure of myself that I said, "Nothing is impossible. Especially when you can see that I am standing here. If it was impossible, I would not have made it this far."

The man let out a bark of a laugh. It sounded forced though. As though he did not find any real amusement in what I had said. "I suppose you are correct. I guess the better question would be, why were you walking through the cursed woods? No one in their right mind would just walk through them. There are far too many scary nightmares about this place." He said the last part with a sense of irony. Almost as if he was the one with nightmares and not the townspeople.

I did not want to tell him that I had ran away from home to try and find my mother. It sounded childish, even to me, and I was afraid that he would not believe me. Besides, I knew nothing about this man. Why should I trust him with that information? "Who are you to demand this information from me? My reasons are my own and it will stay that way."

He laughed again. Again, it was harsh and not filled with joy. I could not get a real sense of who this man was. He was giving me nothing to work with. It was infuriating. Even more infuriating than my sisters, or even my father.

"Have I said something amusing?" I asked coldly. I wanted it to be clear that I did not approve of him. I wanted him to know that I thought he was a cold man and I would not play along with his games of self-importance.

"Of course. You have no idea who I am. That should not come as a shock to me," the man said. I could almost hear the sarcastic smile on his face. Yet, I could almost sense a sadder note to what he said. "No one knows who I am."

I raised my eyebrows. This man wanted me to pity him? That was not happening. I had too much that I had lost to feel sorry for this rich man in a castle that feels alone in the world. I had nothing to say to him, so I decided to look at the book on the table. I walked over to the couch and sat down, picked up the book and flipped through the first few pages. It was a rather dull book about economics. It was better than entertaining this pompous man.

"Are you finished with our conversation already?" the man asked. His voice sounded closer, but it must have been my imagination. He had not emerged from behind the curtain, so he could not have been any closer.

"You have not said anything to remotely interest me. I am waiting for you to let me return home," I said flatly. I did not want to be here anymore. No matter what questions I might still have, they were not as important as my desire to get out of this strange cursed castle. I wanted nothing to do with the magic that surrounded this place and hung heavy in the air.

"Nothing to interest you? Then tell me, what would interest you?" he asked. His voice was a little less harsh than before, but it still sounded guarded. This conversation was becoming very tiring.

"How about what happened to this castle? Why have I not known about it before? And why do you all believe that it is impossible for me to be here?" I asked all the questions that would not lead to fact that I was there.

"Hmm..." the master thought for a little bit. It seemed like he was not sure he wanted to answer those questions. "Those matters are my own and it will stay that way."

I bristled a little. He had thrown my own words back at me. "Then we both have very little to say to each other. May I leave now? I am sorry that I trespassed onto your property, but I would very much like to be on my way." I was sick of it. The odd men, the strange castle. I was sick of it all.

"I am afraid that just is not enough for me. You see, you intrigue me. I would very much like to know how you came to be here." The man's voice was getting sweeter and sweeter. When I first heard it I did not think that there was any way it could sound sweeter, but he must have been pulling out all his charms now. Except that I still had no idea what he looked like. He was still hiding himself from my view.

"What does it matter? I was walking through the woods. Do you really need to know more?" I asked exasperated.

"I would. Yes. You see, I was told that no one would remember this place. And then there are the terrible rumors about how the forest is haunted. Why would you come here?"

He was told? That was interesting. He was giving me information even if it was not willingly. I supposed I would have to give a little information if I wanted to get any back. "It is rather silly, but I have memories of talking walks with my mother near the woods. I saw the path that lead from my house and followed it. It lead me to your stables."

"A path? From your house? How odd," he sounded genuinely surprised. "Why would you have memories of walking there?"

I froze a little. I had not even really explained this to my family, and here I was sharing it all with this stranger who refused to show himself. Somehow, I felt like he was just as interested about it as I was. It was like he was searching for clues in his own mystery.

"I have no idea. That was why I decided to walk through the woods. I have never been to this castle before. I did not even know it existed. How did you come to live here?" I wanted to turn the conversation back to him. I had given him some of what he wanted, now it was his turn.

He laughed a little. "I grew up here. I am the prince of this castle and this kingdom."

It was my turn to laugh. "We have never had a prince. Is this one of the neighboring kingdoms? Did I actually travel that far in just a few hours?"

"This kingdom is Trylsta. Is that your kingdom?"

I was shocked. It was in fact my kingdom. "Yes, but we have never had a prince. We have always sought for freedom, but we are too little. It is why we have such problems with trade. No one wants to trade with the rebels." I felt like I was teaching a history lesson to a small child.

"Is that what everyone believes? Interesting..." he trailed off into his own thoughts.

I shook my head in confusion. This was all so strange. Why did this strange man think that he was the prince of our kingdom? And how did he get to live in this enchanted castle. I did not really want to think about it that much more. I had my own problems to solve. I still had not found out any information about my mother. That was why I had left in the first place. I did not need anyone else's problems to solve.

I rose from my chair and turned to look at the strange curtain again. I addressed curtain and said, "I really must be going. I have so much to do."

"Wait!" the prince said quickly. "Stay here. At least for the night. It is getting late and I would hate for you to spend the night in the open. If you still wish to leave in the morning, you are of course, free to go. Just stay for the night."

The change in demeanor was startling. His voice was pleading with me. It was no longer harsh and uninviting. It was almost the voice of a little boy begging his mother to give him more dinner. I was so shocked, I did not know what to say, so I blurted out, "Of course," before I could stop myself.

I blushed after I agreed. Why was that so embarrassing? He just wanted me to stay because it was his gentleman's duty. I blushed deeper though when he sighed an audible sigh of relief and said, "I am glad. Reginald will show you to a room now. He will show you around the castle and make sure you feel at home. Let him know if you need anything."

I nodded and then realized that he might now be able to see me so I quietly said, "Yes."

I turned to leave the room. My head was buzzing. The conversation had been strenuous at best and then it had ended on such a strange note. I was not really sure how I had gotten in this situation. That seemed to be happening to me a lot lately. I pushed open the door without really thinking and almost ran straight into Reginald.

He was standing right beside the door. It was the strange mad from before. He bowed at me and then said, "Follow me to your room miss." He had a little smile on his face.

I gave him a confused look. "You have it ready already?"

"Of course. I had hoped you would stay for a while. I had the room prepared as soon as you entered the castle." He smiled at me again. There was something in his eyes. It was almost a twinkle of hope and expectation. I had no idea what he wanted from me. It was making me uncomfortable, and my head was still trying to wrap itself around how I had gotten to a point where I was staying the night there.

"Oh," I said with a small voice, and then followed him down the hallway.

Reginald led me down a few hallways before I could organize my thoughts enough to say anything. Once I did I said, "Reginald? That is your name?"

He nodded, but did not say anything else.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Roslyn," I said. I knew that it was a late introduction, but it had occurred to me that I had not told anyone my name. No one in this castle knew who I was. Normally I would not have gone on so long without going through the formalities of introductions, but today had been such a strange day.

"Miss Roslyn. It is my pleasure to serve you while you are here." He gave me another little smile. This time I could see a little of the hesitancy that I had seen earlier in the day.

"What do you know about the prince?" I asked. I knew it was abrupt. And I knew it would shock Reginald, but I had to ask it and I was not sure when I would get another chance.

He stopped for just a moment and studied my face. He must have seen something there he liked because he smiled and then said, "Prince Wyatt is a good man. I have served him all of his life."

"Wyatt? That is his name?" I asked curious about anything that might prove the prince was real and not just a figment of my imagination.

"Of course. Did he not introduce himself? Of course not. He always forgets formalities." Reginald shook his head. It was like he was talking about his own child. It was clear that Reginald cared for Prince Wyatt very much.

"You have served him his whole life?" I asked again. I knew that I was repeating him, but I wanted to be very clear.

"Yes. I came to work at the castle when I was just a boy. I worked for his father before him too. This castle is just as much my home as it is the prince's." Reginald got a faraway look in his eyes.

"How long has the magic been affecting this castle?"

"How much did Prince Wyatt tell you?" he asked in response. He must have been able to tell that I was searching for information.

"Not very much. In fact, it was nothing. He would not tell me anything." I grumbled.

"Then I am afraid that I cannot tell you any more. You will find out when the prince has decided to tell you. It is his tale to tell if he wishes." Reginald gave me a little sad smile. I could tell that he wanted tell me more, but he could not betray his master like that.

I sighed, realizing that I was not going to get any more information from him. I had hoped that now that I had talked to the prince, he might open up a little more. I was wrong.

Reginald stopped in front of a grand set of doors. They were painted white and had even more roses carved into them, but even more, they had a forest scene with deer and a lazy fog carved in as well. I was completely enthralled by it. I had no idea how someone could carve something so detailed. It was almost like I was looking out a window and seeing the scene in real life.

"It is quite beautiful, is it not?" Reginald asked grinning at me.

I looked up at him and smiled, nodding. "I have never seen anything like it before."

"This is the nicest room in the castle. Prince Wyatt wanted to make sure that you were comfortable for as long as you are staying with us."

"Just for the night. I should not impose on your hospitality any longer than that," I said quickly. I did not want to somehow find myself staying here longer.

"Of course. If there is anything you need, just ring the bell beside the door, speak what you want and it will appear. The kitchens are down this hallway to the right. If you need anything, Mary, the cook, will be happy to serve you. Please, make yourself at home and feel comfortable." Reginald said then bowed as he backed away.

He must have had other work he needed to get to. I thought it was strange that he did not open the door and make sure everything was okay for me, but once I opened the door I was grateful that he had left.

I completely lost my composure. Something that happened very rarely for me. I gasped and stared at everything. I just wanted to soak in the entire room. It was like a dream.

There was a large four poster bed in the center of the room. It had hanging drapes that were made of a sheer white material. They bunched in the corners and then hung around the sides of the bed. Above those curtains were dark purple velvet curtains. They were bunched at the top of the pillars, but there was a thick gold rope that hung down. I assumed it was so I could lower the darker curtains while I was sleeping.

There was a balcony straight ahead of me. It had double glass doors. On the porch was a set of chairs and a breakfast table. They were made of iron, but they were shaped in such a magnificent way, it looked like they were plants growing from the ground. The iron twisted and turned to look just like rose vines. The table had a glass top and sitting on it was a clear vase filled with wildflowers from the field I had stumbled upon earlier.

In the room there was a fireplace to the far right. It had a hearth made of shiny black stones. They were laid out perfectly to create a nice place to set your shoes so that they could get warm. Or to place a blanket and watch the fire for a time. It was quite beautiful. The firelight shone off the stones and cast a merry glow around the room.

There were also a set of couches set up to my left. They were purple like the curtains. They had white pillows on it and a few soft knitted white blankets folded along the backs.

It was all so magnificent. I had never seen anything quite so beautiful in my entire life. There was so many things to love that I just could not take it all in. I could have stood staring for hours, but my stomach grumbled and pulled me out of my trance. I had not eaten the entire day and was getting quite famished.

I placed my little sack at the foot of the bed, and without looking at anything else, in case I got distracted, I turned and left the room.

"He said the kitchens were this way," I mumbled to myself as I turned down the hallway to go and get some food. Maybe I would get some and take it back to the room and eat it at the breakfast table while watching the sun set. "I wonder if I can see the sea from the balcony. I have never really seen the sea before, and we should be fairly close. I did head west from my home."

I was talking to myself. I only did that when I was overwhelmed. This day had been so long. I just needed to get a good night's rest and be on my way in the morning. Then I could pretend like none of this had ever happened. That was all I needed.


	4. Chapter 4

The kitchens were exactly what I was expecting. There were a few wood ovens, stoves and fire pits. Food was cooking all over the room and the room was filled with the scents of expertly made cuisine. What did surprise me was that there was just one cook. I expected a few helpers at least.

"Hello?" I said timidly. I was afraid to interrupt her work, but I wanted to make my presence known.

The cook looked up at me and grinned. She was a merry looking person. She round rosy cheeks. Her eyes were brown and sparkled with a love of what she did. Her hair was greying, but most of it was hidden under a large chef's hat. What I could see was frizzy and stuck out in strange directions. She was shorter than me, so she carried around a stool so that she could reach the counters easily.

"Hello deary!" she exclaimed. "You must be the dear thing that is staying with us. What can I do for you?"

I smiled. She made me feel so relaxed. She seemed so normal compared to everything else around me. It reminded me of home. "I was wondering if I could get a bite to eat. I am completely famished."

"Well of course. This is a kitchen of course," the cook. "What will it be? Stew? I have a meat pie over there cooling. Or perhaps something lighter. We have fresh fruit and cheese."

"The stew sounds lovely," I said. I had always loved stew.

She smiled and started working right away. She pulled out a wooden bowl and filled it with a stew that was simmering over a fire. Then placed it in front of me along with a spoon. Then she cut a slice of bread from a loaf sitting at the edge of the table and placed it beside my bowl. "Eat up," she exclaimed as she placed a plate with butter on it in front of me.

I quickly took a seat at a stool next to the table and pulled the bowl closer to me. The stew smelled delicious. It had beef in it. There were potatoes and carrots. There were other root vegetables too. I have never had a stew this fancy before. Usually stew was just a way to use extra food. I placed a bite in my mouth slowly, but could not stop myself from quickly eating after that. The food was just so good. I used the bread to scoop up the last of the broth when I had finished. The bread was perfectly light and fluffy. It reminded me of the fancy breads the baker would give me on slow days. He would always give it to me with a wink and tell me to not tell his wife. His bread was almost as good as this was.

Once I had finished, the cook quickly whisked my bowl away and started to clean it before I could say anything. I watched her as she cleaned up. She worked like it was all second nature to her. It was clear that she had been doing this for quite some time.

"Your name is Mary, right? That is what Reginald told me earlier. My name is Roslyn. I am sorry for not introducing myself earlier," I finally said once she had finished washing the dishes.

"That's right. Reggie had already come by and told me your name, so it is quite alright." She smiled at me.

"Reggie?" I thought about the strange man I had seen earlier. Somehow it was ridiculous to call him Reggie. I started giggling to myself. I knew that was rude, but the image was just so strange.

"My husband," Mary said with a smile. "He may not seem like it, but he really is a kind man."

I stopped laughing. "Husband? Have you been working here as long as he has then?"

"Not quite. I came to work here when I was twenty-two. That was when I met him. We fell in love not too long after that." She got a faraway look in her eyes and I could tell that she was reliving some of those memories in her mind.

I smiled, "That sounds nice. Do you like working here?"

Mary looked at me with a strange look. "It has it's quirks, but I just love cooking. And this kitchen is the best in the kingdom. I would never be able to give that up."

I looked around the kitchens again and remembered how odd it was that there was not other workers here. "Do you work alone? I would think you would want assistants."

Mary glanced around the kitchen nervously. "I have assistants. They just don't come in here when someone is visiting. They feel like it would be improper."

"What?" I asked incredulously. "That is just silly. They should not stop their work because I am in here."

"Oh, they don't stop," Mary said. "They just go and do other work. You won't see any of the servants here. The only people you'll see will be me and Reginald." Mary said all of this with a cheerful voice, like she did not want me to think too hard about it.

I gave her a confused look. "But, that will get lonely. Why do they do that?"

"That is just the way Prince Wyatt has made it. If you need anything, it gets taken care of, but you will never see how." Mary started scrubbing some pots nearby and would not look up from her work.

"That seems so strange. Prince Wyatt. Do you know him very well? You have been here since he was a child, right?" I was hoping that Mary might tell me a little more than what Reginald gave me.

"Oh yes. He is almost like a son to me. I've been cooking here since before he was born." Mary looked up and smiled.

"What is he like? Do you know why he hides behind a curtain?" I asked.

Mary looked a little uncomfortable. "Is that what he does? Hides behind a curtain?" She asked softly. It was more like she was asking herself and not me. She frowned staring at the pots. "He was never really like that as a child." Then she looked up and smiled at me. "As a child he had to be the center of attention. He would always run through here leaving such a mess. Of course, he always came back to clean it up later. He was a good boy. He wanted to help people more than anything. He has such a soft spot for people in his heart."

I was a little shocked. "Really? He seemed so cold when I spoke to him. What happened?"

"I suppose it all started with his father's death," Mary said sadly. She looked like she might start to cry just thinking about it. "He died when Wyatt was just sixteen. It was hard on him. Wyatt did not want to take any responsibility. And then just three years ago, his mother also passed away. I think Wyatt feels alone. That's why he is the way he is."

"That is so sad," I said quietly. "So he acts cold because he has lost so much already in life?"

Mary nodded. "At least, that is what I think. Wyatt might tell you differently."

"If he ever said anything meaningful," I muttered.

Mary laughed. "Yes, our prince does not like to share that much. He keeps the world closed off from him. It would be quite impressive if you could get him to say anything."

"He mention how know one knew who he was," I said softly. "Why is it that I have never heard of a prince in our kingdom or even of this castle?"

"That, I cannot tell you. It is the prince's tale."

"Of course. That is exactly what Reginald said," I mumbled. I was starting to hate all the secrets of this castle. What I hated most of all was how much I wanted to find out. I was supposed to be finding my mother, not solving the mystery of this forgotten prince.

"Yes, well, all I can tell you is that it will only get worse if the prince decides to be a stubborn as he has been the past few years," Mary said shaking her head. She was now making a pie crust and was folding the dough over itself over and over again.

"Really?" I asked, but I was not really looking for an answer. I just needed to respond so that the silence was not awkward. I knew that Mary would not tell me any more. I looked down at my hands.

What was a still doing sitting here? Why did I feel like I should help Prince Wyatt? He had done nothing for me except delay me on my search. Of course, this was my only lead. If I went back home, I would have nothing to start another search on. I would have to just sit and wait. I hated that. I did not want to admit to Katrina that she was right. I could exactly what her smug face would look like if I came home and said that it was hopeless. I hated that look. I had grown up with older sister Katrina telling me all the time how much smarter she was.

I clenched my fists. I would not return. I had to move forward, but where would I go from here? I could continue through the woods, but I had no idea where that would lead me. I also did not think that my mother would just wander through the woods. The only reason she would disappear would be if she was taken or if she knew exactly where she was going.

"So, are you going to tell me what a pretty little girl like you was doing wandering through the woods?" Mary asked me pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I looked up at her startled. I had been avoided telling anyone that. I studied her face. She seemed so warm and understanding. Like I was talking to my own mother. Surely she would understand? "My mother. She is missing. I have to find her."

"Oh no!" Mary exclaimed. She looked genuinely worried. "Do you know where she might have gone."

"No," I said glumly. "That is the main problem. I have no idea where she could have gone."

"How long has she been missing?"

"About a month. She was there one hour and then that night, she was gone. No note. Nothing. I thought maybe she had just lost track of time in her garden, but no matter where I searched for her, there was no sign of her at all." I explained all this trying to fight back tears.

"She's a gardener?" Mary asked. She seemed very concerned by this fact. I had no idea why.

"Yes. The best in the town. Everyone loves her produce and we have regular customers from all the large families." I explained with a little smile. Thinking about how much my mother loved her garden always made me happy. She tended each plant as if it was her child. She would be delicate but firm with them and they always grew better for her than for anyone else.

"Oh dear," Mary said softly to herself.

I looked up at her sharply. "Why? Do you know something about where she might be?"

She looked uncomfortable. Like she knew more than she wanted to know. "No!" she exclaimed a little louder than was necessary. "I was just thinking about how I would love to try something from her garden. It sounds wonderful."

I listened to her, but I was still not sure what to make of the whole scene. "Oh," my face fell. I had hoped that she might give me something more to lead me. I still had no idea what I was going to do.

"But," she said quietly, "I have a good feeling about the path you're on. Keep looking. I'm sure you'll find her." After she said this she turned and quickly busied herself with a pot about five feet away. She did not look over at me.

I was suspicious of what she was saying, but I did not question her further. It was clear she did not want to say anything else. "Okay," I said softly. Mary nodded her head at me, but still did not make eye contact.

Once I realized that the conversation was not going to go much farther from here, I pushed my stool back and stood up. "Thank you for the delicious food. I think I am going to go to bed now," I said kindly to Mary.

Mary turned and smiled. "If you need anything else, you let me know."

I nodded and then turned to leave the room. I walked back to my room slowly, thinking about what I was going to do. There were certainly some strange things going on in this castle, but I was not sure that it had anything to do with my mother. I decided that I just needed to sleep on and maybe in the morning it would be clear.


	5. Chapter 5

The morning and came and went. Nothing at the castle had convinced me that I needed to stay. I said my goodbyes to Prince Wyatt and then Reginald and Mary. The Prince seemed disappointed that I would not stay, but did not insist that I stay longer. I was grateful for that. I was not sure I would stand my ground against him. Reginald and Mary were the ones that almost convinced me to stay. They acted like I had taken away all hope when I decided to leave. It was like there was something more they wanted from me, but I had no idea what that was.

I was almost sad to say goodbye to the odd couple. I wanted to help them, but I knew that I just could not do that right now. Maybe after I found my mother, I would be able to come back and help them with whatever made them so sad.

The walk home was one of the longest walks of my life. I knew exactly what would happen as soon as I got home, but that still did not prepare me for it. I would have to explain where I was for the past day and then I would have to explain how unproductive it was. I hated being wrong.

What surprised me though, was Annalee. As soon as I walked into the view of the house I heard a cry, "Roslyn! Oh my goodness! It really is you!" And then Annalee was hugging me. I had never seen her quite so vocal. She was usually the quiet one who never showed her emotions.

I hugged her back and said, "Yes. I am so sorry for worrying you."

"Where have you been?" Annalee asked and she grabbed my hand and dragged me back towards the house.

"A castle," I said simply.

Annalee gave me a strange look, like I had lost my mind.

"I know exactly what you are thinking. There is no castle around here. But, there really is. It is in the the cursed forest." I explained further.

She gasped. "You went into the forest? But what about all the stories? Why would you do that?" She seemed panicked, as if she was no longer sure if I was really there. Maybe she thought I could be my ghost coming home to warn her about the dangers of the forest.

I laughed a little. "They must all be lies. I never once ran into anything dangerous. It was an odd place, but that is really all. Nothing about it threatened me or anything."

"I am just glad you came home safe. Now father and Katrina can relax." Annalee said with a smile.

"Relax? They were not worried, surely," I said skeptically.

"They were the most worried. I had to tell them that you would not do anything dangerous, but they would not listen. They thought you had ran off to join the military or train to be a witch." Annalee laughed at the dramatic thoughts.

"Did you not read my note?" I asked shocked.

"Oh. You mean the one that said, 'I am going to find mother. There is no need to worry.'?" Annalee said with a smirk on her face. "The one that told us nothing. At all. Of course we read it."

I gave her a small apologetic smile. "It was enough for me. I still was unsure of where I was going."

"You left without a plan?" Annalee asked incredulous.

"Well... what else was I supposed to do. There was not very much to plan with," I said in a tone that suggested it was obvious.

Annalee gave me an annoyed look. "You should know better than to just run off like that."

By this time we had reached the house. I pulled away from Annalee at the door and stopped to just stare in concern. Annalee turned and looked at me confused. "I have absolutely no desire to go in there and admit I was wrong."

Annalee laughed. "Oh come on," she grabbed my hand again and pulled me through the doorway. "It is is not going to be that bad. They will just be happy you are home."

I grimaced and followed her in.

"What are you doing here?" a cold voice said to my left.

I turned and saw Katrina glowering at me. I looked at Annalee and raised my eyebrows. She shrugged, smiled and left the room as quickly as possible.

"It is so good to see you too Katrina," I said as kindly as possible.

"What are you doing here?" she said again, flatly.

I was getting sick of all these conversations that seemed so attacking. She was treating me exactly how the prince had. "I came home. I suppose this is still my home, right?"

Katrina glared at me, "After what you did, I am surprised you would even want to call this your home."

"Of course this is my home. You are still my family. Everything I do is for you." I said simply. I did not really want to argue with her.

"How is abandoning us helping us?"

Her arms were crossed and she was tapping her toe frantically. Her clothes were all disheveled and her hair was not as nicely done as it normally would have been. Her eyes were red and bloodshot. It looked like she had not gotten any sleep the night before. Maybe Annalee was right. Katrina had been worried.

I instantly felt bad. "I never meant to make you worry."

"Worry? Who said anything about worrying?" Katrina asked. Her toned was still very harsh, but it looked like she was trying to hold back tears.

"I just wanted to find mother," I said. I felt like a small child explaining a mistake.

"And? Did you find anything?" Katrina sounded like she wanted me to say that I had. I hated that I was going to disappoint her. Again.

"No. All I found was a strange castle with a disillusioned prince." I said this with a little irony in my voice. I wanted her to see that I was not going to fight anymore.

"Nothing," Katrina said. She sounded disappointed, but she quickly added, "That really is not surprising. Did you really think that you would find something?"

"I had hoped," I said quietly.

Katrina just huffed. "Well, you left a ton of work. You probably should get to that."

I sighed, "Alright. Let me just tell father that I am home."

She sniffed and said, "He already knows you are here. I would not go up there if I were you. He is really focused on something for work."

I sighed again. Of course he was busy. That was what he did when there was something he did not want to deal with. "Alright. I guess I will go out to the garden."

Katrina nodded and seemed a little more relaxed now that I had agreed to not go see father right now. It really must have been a hard night on them. "Oh, and Jameson came by yesterday. He is coming to dinner tonight."

I groaned. "Really? Did he say what he wanted?" I had no desire to see him right now. That was just one more thing I would have to worry about today.

"Just the usually. Asking if you were here. He wanted to talk to father too." Katrina said with a smirk.

"He always talks to father. And then he asks me. And I always say no. Why do we keep doing this?" I asked exasperated.

"Why not just say yes?" Katrina's eyes were sparkling. She knew what the answer would be. She just liked getting a reaction out of me.

"Because I am much too young to get married. I have you lot to look after too. What would you do if I suddenly went off and disappeared?" I winked at Katrina in a playful manner. Then I realized what I had said. I did just that yesterday. I hoped that she would not take it the wrong way.

"We would do just fine, thank you very much," she said in an exaggerated manner. "We really have no need for you. Go on. Get married," she smirked again.

"You know that I have no desire to get married right now. You better not have said anything to him to convince him otherwise," I warned her.

"Of course not, but he still seems to think that you are in love with him. When are you going to tell him that you have no feelings for him?"

"It is not that I have no feelings for him. It is more that I am just not thinking about marriage. He knows that," I shook my head.

"So you do have feelings for him?" Katrina asked a little shocked.

"No. That is not really it either. It is more that I can see if I would let myself, I could. I just am not ready to let myself have feelings for him." I tried my best to explain what I was feeling, but I was sure that she would not really understand. Katrina was always so quick to feel things towards people. She never really had control over that.

"Did you tell him that? Because that made no sense whatsoever," Katrina teased. "He is going to think that you are just being coy. Maybe that is why he keeps coming." She giggled.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed. "I just do not want to worry about it any more. I am going to go garden now. If you need me, I will be outside." I turned and quickly left the room. I did not want to have to explain it any further. Or, put up with Katrina's teasing.

"Of course dear sister!" Katrina called after me, laughing.

I stomped over to the garden and noticed that quite a few weeds had grown in the night. I quickly started pulling them out and throwing them onto the compost pile. With each weed I pulled up from the ground I started to relax.

Katrina had wound me up so tight with our little exchange. Sometimes it was so hard to see what she really wanted from me. She was five years older than me. It made it hard for me to relate to her sometimes. And then Annalee was four years older than me. I was so much younger that sometimes they forget that I had grown up too.

It made me feel like a baby or a small child, when all I really wanted was to feel like an adult with everyone else. I knew just as much as them. I even did more work than them. Why could they not see that I needed respect too?

And then the matter with Jameson was not helping. Katrina and Annalee had both had a few suitors, but none of them are really stuck around very long. Father tended to be a little harsh if they were not rich enough. Which was ridiculous. We were a poor family now; we could not afford to be picky. But Katrina was always okay with it. She had always had a dream of marrying above her status. She talked about all the eligible dukes and lords. Annalee was too quiet to really get anything to work either. Besides, I was still counting on Grant to fall in love with her.

I had never had a suitor. I was too young. Then Jameson came around. He was the son of the local tailor. His mother loved our produce and he would come by to pick up what she wanted. I started to talk to him and it seemed like we could be friends. And then he started coming more and more. Even when he did not have anything to pick up. My sisters noticed before I did and of course they started to tease me. It was embarrassing. My sisters were not married, so marriage was something I had never really thought about. I knew it would happen one day, but right now was not that time. Jameson had been asking my father for permission to marry me for about six months. My father always said the same thing, "If you can get her to say yes."

I wanted to curse the old man every time he said that. It was like he expected me to say yes eventually. I really just wanted him to tell Jameson that it was a lost cause and send him home. As much as I enjoyed the conversations with Jameson, the embarrassment he brought every time he came out weighed it.

"Hello Roslyn," a voice said behind me.

I jumped, being caught off guard. I turned and saw Jameson standing before me. He was rather tall and had a muscular build. His hair was golden colored and curled ever so slightly around his ears. His eyes were blue, but more the blue green of the sea after a storm. His jaw was very square and strong. He always had a smile on his face and his eyes always twinkled with something only he found funny. He really was quite handsome, but still, he was just a friend that hung around a little too much.

I blushed at seeing him because of what I had been thinking about just before he showed up. "Oh great," I thought. "Now he is going to think I blushed because I was happy to see him. I need to stop giving this poor boy false hope."

"Hello Jameson, how are you today?" I asked politely.

"I am doing rather well," he grinned as if he wanted me to know that he was doing so well because he was there with me. "How are you?"

"Rather tired, but just fine," I answered flatly. I knew that I should be nicer to him, but I just could not bring myself to be happy to see him.

He laughed. "How did your adventure yesterday go? Your sisters said you had gone on a long walk and would not be home until late."

"Oh yes. It went well. I enjoyed myself, but found that I did not find what I was looking for." I was shocked. They had said I would be back. What would they have said if I had not returned today?

"What were you looking for?" he asked curious.

"My mother."

"Roslyn," he said softly. "Are you still worrying about that?" He reached out to brush his fingers along my arm. I pulled back a little. I did not want comforting.

"Of course. She is my mother. I will worry about it until I see her again." I said standing up from the place I was crouched pulling weeds.

He smiled at me sadly, nodded and then grinned his huge smile that he reserved just for me. "Is your father home?"

I sighed. "Yes Jameson. He is. Will you not give up this venture?"

"Not until I can call you my wife," I winked at me and then merrily turned and walked into the house.

I shook my head. He was such a happy person. He never thought about the negative sides of things and he was so persistent. Sometimes I enjoyed it because it was exactly how I was, but when he decided on something contrary to me, it was just taxing.

I brushed off my skirt and walked towards the house too. I walked into the kitchen to see Annalee cooking dinner and singing a soft song. She was smiling and seemed so calm. It was like I had never gone. Katrina entered from the hallway just as I walked in. She smirked at me.

I glared at her daring her to say anything about Jameson, but she just winked and turned to Annalee. "What are we having for dinner? It should be extra special today."

Annalee giggled and grinned at me. "Of course. Extra special. Not every day your sister gets engaged."

"Oh give it a rest. I am not getting engaged today," I mumbled as I walked to the washing bucket next to the door and started scrubbing my hands.

"Oh, so it will be another no today. I guess you should have comfort food out so that Jameson can eat away his sorrows." Katrina could not keep a straight face as she said it and started laughing loudly. I splashed a little water in her direction. She dodge it and just stood and laughed at me.

"Well, I made that ham that Grant gave us the other day, and then we have the potatoes from the garden. I was thinking we might have a few berries with cream for dessert. Are there berries in the garden that are ripe, Roslyn?" Annalee went straight to business about dinner. She always knew exactly when to stop our play fights before they turned into real fights.

"Of course, I will go and pick some. Berries and cream are my favorite," I smiled and turned to leave.

"I know. That was why I wanted to have them tonight," Annalee said simply.

I instantly felt guilty again. It was because I had worried her so much. She wanted me to know that she still loved me and that she did not hold a grudge against me. I just nodded and left the room.

The berry bushes were always my favorite to tend to. They were actually mine. Mother did not like them. She always said that you had to be too firm to them and she always felt bad about how much you had to trim and bully them to do what you want. I loved working with them. It always seemed like a puzzle to me. I had to figure out how to work around the thorns so that I could make them grow how I wanted.

The raspberries were not quite ripe yet, but the blackberries were huge and hanging heavy on the vines. I quickly pulled them off the bushes and placed them in a small basket I had taken with me. I filled the basket so that there was enough for every person to have bull full of the sweet berries. I took one and placed it in my mouth. It was delicious. So sweet and juicy.

"There you are Roslyn. Annalee sent me to come and get you. Dinner is ready."

I turned to see Jameson grinning at me. I quickly swallowed the berry in my mouth and wiped my hands on my apron. He laughed at my antics, which made me blush.

"I was glad that she sent me to come and get you. I always enjoy spending time with you," Jameson said calmly.

It always made me uncomfortable how direct he was about his feelings. I never really knew what to say to that, so I just nodded my head. I started to walk back to the kitchen when he called out to me.

"Roslyn. Wait just a moment," his voice was calm.

I knew what was going to happen and I hated that I was going to see the look of disappointment on his face again. I turned to look at him. He was standing much closer than I had expected and almost ran straight into him. I had to take a step back so that I could look up at him.

He smiled and me and knelt to the ground on one knee. I groaned. "Do you really have to do this?" I asked.

"Always," he said still smiling, though I was sure he knew what I was going to say by that point. "Roslyn. I love you. I always have. Are you ready to answer yes and become my wife yet?"

I grimaced a little. "Not tonight," I said softly. I stood perfectly still and did not go in to hug him like I wanted to. I wanted to tell him about how much I loved being his friend. I wanted him to know that it was not him that I was saying no to, it was marriage itself. But I did not. I knew that would only make the conversation so much longer and more awkward. I had done it too many times before.

Jameson just kept smiling. I have no idea how he was able to do that. It was strange how he could be so happy after each rejection. He did get a little softer around the eyes and could tell that he had hoped that I would finally say yes. But why would he expect me to change since last week and he had asked me? I was still the same person.

"No matter," he stood up and took my arm, "You will say yes eventually."

"Jameson," I said, but I was not really sure what I was going to say after that.

"No. Stop. You should never sound so guilty. Life is how it is supposed to be." He led me back through the kitchens. I dropped the berries off and placed them in a bowl and sprinkled just a little sugar over the top and then followed Jameson into the dining room.

When I walked into the room and made eye contact with my father. He looked at me, at Jameson and then back at me. Then he winked. I shook my head and smiled a little smirk. He shook his head at me as if he was disappointed in me, but then turned to talk with Jameson.

I took my seat next to Annalee. She smiled and me and nodded to father. "I told you it would be okay. It is like last night never happened."

I nodded softly. Once father had welcomed Jameson and thanked Annalee for the food we all dished up our plates. Tonight's dinner was in such contrast to the last dinner I ate at this table that I could not help smiling at the irony. We all talked and joked merrily. It was one of the best dinners we had since mother had gone.

I listened to most of the conversation, and would occasionally get lost in thought. Someone would always call me back to the conversation quickly, so I never really got a chance to just think, but I could not shake the feeling that I was forgetting something. It was like trying to remember a dream. The more I thought about it, the less I could remember. It was troubling me.

After dessert, we all went into the sitting room to talk. Katrina pulled out her embroidery. Annalee pulled out a deck of cards and started playing a game of cards with father. I was looking out the window towards the woods deep in thought, trying to remember what it was I had forgotten.

Jameson came and sat in a chair next to mine. "Tell me Roslyn. I want to hear about your adventures with the forgotten castle and the disillusioned prince. I am sure you tried to talk some sense into him. You always do that."

I gave him a funny look. A castle? Oh that was right! That was what I had been trying to remember. The castle I had stayed the night at. It was strange that I had already started to forget about it, but I did not dwell too much on that.

I smiled at Jameson's jab and said, "It really is quite dull. I just took a walk through the woods. There I came upon the most beautiful stables filled with the most magnificent horses. I think you would have liked to see it. You are always talking about the grand horses that pass through town. You have never seen horses like these, I promise."

"Tell me about them," Jameson said with a twinkle in his eye.

"There is one. He is the biggest horse I had ever seen. I would need a tall step to mount him. His name was Silverlight. At least that was what the nameplate above his stall said. And his name is fitting. He was a shiny silver color. I have never seen a horse that shade before. It was grey, but not blue grey like most of the horses you see. It was a white grey color. It was like looking at a start that had fallen from the sky in the form of a horse. His mane and tail were braided and his eyes... they were so intelligent. He was the most beautiful horse I have ever seen."

Jameson grinned. "He sounds wonderful. What about the castle? What was it like?"

"It was strange. The outside looked like an old castle that was falling apart. The inside was beautiful though. Everything was in perfect condition. It was quite strange to see. And the decor was all roses. Nothing else really. I did not really know what to think about it," I said with a little frown.

"It was old on the outside but new on the inside? How was that possible?" Katrina asked from her chair across the room. I had not noticed, but everyone in the room was listening to what I was saying.

"The butler said it was magic," I said simply.

Everyone gasped a little. Annalee turned a little paler. Katrina dropped her fabric into her lap and stared at me with a look of pure shock. Father looked doubtful. Jameson looked very concerned.

"How is that possible? We have no magic in this kingdom," Jameson said in almost a whisper.

"I never got a straight answer from anyone. They all seemed like they did not want to talk about and would always tell me it was the prince's tale to tell. It was all a little suspicious to me." I said and looked around. "I know it was magic, but there was nothing that seemed dangerous."

"How do you know? Something could have attacked you at any time," Annalee said, her voice filled with concern.

"But nothing ever did. All those tales we hear from different kingdoms about witches and curses must be exaggerated," I said.

"Even the one about the spindles or even the one about a giant crushing a town?" Katrina asked.

"They must be. This magic castle had nothing sinister in it. The only really strange thing was the people. They were very strange." I was trying to calm everyone down. I knew that the mention of magic would concern everyone, but I had hoped that they would see that I was okay and not think any more about it. I was wrong.

"But why was there a magic here?" Annalee asked.

"I do not really know. The prince did not really tell me anything," I explained.

"What was the prince like?" Katrina asked. She had a little sparkle in her eye. I could tell she was intrigued by a man with status like that, even if the magic scared her.

"Odd," I said bluntly. Everyone gave me a strange look. "He would not let anyone see him. He hid behind a curtain the entire time I was talking to him. And he would not let the servants be seen. He told them they had to stay hidden from view. I only ever saw the butler and cook. It was really strange."

"Oh," Katrina's face fell a little. "I bet he is really ugly or something. Why else would he hide behind a curtain?"

"Maybe he gets really uncomfortable in front of people," Annalee said.

"Perhaps he just likes to cause mystery. He thinks it makes his life more interesting," my father said looking around with the look a child gets when he wants everyone to tell him how smart he is.

I sighed. "Whatever his reasons, it was bizarre. I was not particularly impressed with his conversations skills either. He was either attacking me verbally or pleading with me to stay. It was unnerving."

"He wanted you to stay? Why?" Jameson asked sharply. I could hear jealously very clearly in his voice.

"He never really said. He just pleaded with me to stay. It was like he wanted to prove to me that he could help me somehow. It was also like he thought I would forget about him if I left and he desperately wanted someone to remember him. It was very strange." I tried to explain as best as I could, but it was hard to describe the feeling I got around the prince.

"He sounds like a child to me," Katrina sniffed. She picked up her embroidery and went back to work. She had lost interest in the story once she had found out that the prince was not what she wanted.

My father shrugged and said, "Well, you are home now. That is all that matters."

Annalee smiled at me and turned back to her card game with father. Jameson however still looked intently at me. He had a look on his face that I did not quite understand. It was like he wanted something more from me, but I could not tell what it was.

"The strange thing was really how everyone talked about the prince," I said softly.

"What did they say?" he asked.

"Not much really, but it was like they wanted me to see something that they could not tell me. They wanted me to understand more than they were telling me. Mary, the cook, was the one who seemed to really want to tell me more. Especially after I mentioned mother was a gardener." I was just going over details now. I was more thinking aloud rather than telling Jameson about it.

"What does being a gardener have to do with anything?" Jameson asked confused.

"She would not say. She changed the subject quickly after that, but she must have known something more. She just kept saying it was the prince's tale to tell. That was what Reginald, the butler, kept saying too." I shook my head in confusion. "I do not really know what to think about it all."

Jameson gave me a worried look. "It will be okay. Your mother is fine. She will be home before you know it."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I can just feel it," Jameson said with a smile.

"Is it strange that I feel like the prince is the key to it all? That he would know where my mother was if I could just ask him?" I asked Jameson. There was an edge to my voice. I could not control the feeling of urgency. It was like the feeling I had before the first time I left.

"Not at all. But if that is how you feel, why did you come back? You are not the type to give up," Jameson said looking at me intensely. It made me a little uncomfortable. He was right, though. I never gave up. I knew that I was still going to try and find my mother. I had to.

"You are completely right. I think I am going to go back," I whispered. I did not want my family to hear me. They would surely argue and I did not want to spoil the great evening we had.

"You are?" Jameson asked shocked. It was clear that although he knew that I would not give up, he did not think that I would actually go back to the magical castle. "Well then," he said hesitantly, "I am going to go with you."

"No!" I exclaimed a little louder than I meant to. Everyone in the room looked up at me curiously.

Jameson gave me a hard look and said, "Why not?"

I looked around the room and everyone was still watching me. I did not want them to hear about it, so I stood up from my chair and said, "I have to go work in the garden before it gets too dark. I never got a chance to harvest any of the food today."

Then I turned to leave the room. I left before anyone could say anything to me. As I was walking down the hallway I could hear Jameson saying his goodbyes. He was going to follow me out to the garden. Good. If I was going to have this conversation with him, I wanted it away from my family. They would hear about my decision in the morning. Not tonight.

Once I was in the garden with my apron and a few baskets around me, Jameson came up beside me and said without any hesitation or introduction, "I am going to go with you."

I stiffened and then started to pick green beans off of the vines and threw them haphazardly into one of the baskets. "No. You need to stay here."

"Why? Why will you not let me go?" he asked. He knelt beside me and started picking beans too.

"Because," I said.

"Because why?"

"Just because!" I snapped. I really had no reason. He knew that. That was why he was trying to force me to say something.

"That is not a real reason, Roslyn," he said softly. He had said this to me many times. "If you are going back, then I am going to go with you. You should not go alone."

I shrugged. "I went alone last time and I am perfectly fine now."

"But you have no guarantee that will happen this time. A number of things could go wrong. Besides, you should have someone around to talk to. You always do better when you talk things through. You told me that yourself." He was trying to remind me that we really did have a relationship, even if I would not agree to marry him. He wanted me to trust him. I could feel that. I just did not really know how to do that. For me, it was always a do what you had to and never rely on someone else. They will let you down.

"I know, but I am going to leave my family. I could never drag you away from yours," I said. I was trying to find a reason for feeling guilty about him coming. I really did not know why I felt guilty, but I did.

"I leave them for days at a time all the time. I have to go and make deliveries and shop for new materials. It would not be anything different. It would really be the same as if I was on a business trip. Roslyn," I grabbed my hand and pulled me to turn and look at him. "I am coming with you whether I am following you or walking besides you."

I pulled away from him and stood to walk the aisles of corn. "I guess there is no point arguing with you, but I would ask you to reconsider. I have pulled too many people into my problems. Everyone should be happy and go about their business without worrying about me."

"People care for you. Of course they are going to worry. Even if you tell them not to. It is what loving someone means," Jameson said simply. He did not look at me when he said this, for which I was grateful. I blushed realizing that he was telling me that he loved me.

After the corn we picked the tomatoes, peppers and then a few onions and potatoes. It was getting very dark when we finished and we had to go back in. We did not talk the rest of the time. We both knew that there was nothing more to say. Jameson knew I wanted him to stay and I knew that he was not going to.

At the kitchen door, Jameson took my hand and kissed it gently. "I will be back in the morning. Please do not leave before I get here," he said softly.

I nodded and gave him a little smile. I wanted him to know that I was grateful that he was coming, even if I did not think it was the right thing to do. He nodded slightly and then was walking quickly down the road towards the town. I hoped that he would be able to find his way back in the dark alright.

I looked at the baskets in the kitchen of all the food I had gathered. It was too much for just my family to eat, especially since I was going to be leaving again and we did not expect anyone to come and get any anytime soon. I was not really sure what I was going to do with it when I remembered how Mary had said she would love to try some of my mother's garden.

I smiled at the memory of the cook and how she had made me feel so at home, even if she was little odd. I grabbed a small basket from the corner and decided that I would pack it with food for her. She would love that.

I was almost done packing the basket when Annalee came into the kitchen. She looked at what I was doing and gave me a sad look. "You are going back, right?"

I looked up at her shocked. I did not think I was that obvious about it. I had hoped that no one would suspect anything until tomorrow morning when I told them. I could tell that lying to her would not work so I nodded my head just a little bit.

"I knew you would. As soon as you told me that you had not learned anything. I knew you would have to leave again. I just hoped that it would later and not so soon." She looked so much like mother in that moment that it made me want to cry. Yet, at the same time, it made me want to find her so much more.

"I have to. I know I should wait, but I just cannot do that. You have to understand," I said slowly. I was not sure that she would understand, but I hoped that she would.

"I know. You always have to fix things. You were always that way. Taking care of the family before you could even take care of yourself. Caring for Katrina and mine's whims even when you thought they were silly. Helping mother in the garden and with the washing. Go take care of us and I will always be here when you get back."

Tears filled my eyes. I did not really know what to say to her. I never knew that she noticed all of those things. I never realized that anyone saw. I always thought that I was the forgotten and underappreciated sister. I was so wrong. I quickly went to her and hugged her.

"I love you," I whispered in her ear.

Annalee hugged me tight and said, "I know. I love you too."

I pulled away and studied her face for a moment. "You do not need to worry about me. Jameson is going to come with me. He wants to protect me." I shook my head as if this was a ridiculous notion.

Annalee laughed. "It seems he will always be there for you. Be happy sister." She said the last sentence strangely. It seemed so out of place. It was almost like she thought that I would not be happy.

I gave her a questioning look, but she did not say anything further. She just took my basket from me, wrapped a cloth around it to protect the food and set it on the counter near the door. I watched her, and I realized just how much she took care of me, even when I thought I was taking care of her. She might be four years older than me, but I felt like she was the closest friend I had. No matter what.

I smiled and then grimaced a little because I just remembered that I would need to tell Katrina and father that I was leaving. Annalee saw my face and laughed.

"You do not need to worry about Katrina or father. I already told them that you would most likely be leaving soon. I will tell them before we go to bed so in the morning you can give us a proper goodbye this time." She smiled at me and then gestured for me to leave. "Now go get to bed. You need to get as much sleep as you can before you go off adventuring.

I nodded and said, "Thanks," before turning and heading towards the room. I smiled to myself. My sister was there for me, even when I did not know it. That was a happy feeling. It reminded me so much of my mother.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure you know where you are going?" Jameson asked me, for the fourth time.

"Yes, Jameson. This is the path I took the other day. It should be easy to follow from here. I already told you that," I said a little exasperated.

"I know. It is just that I have never been in this forest before. It seems so different to me. Dark and mysterious." He sounded nervous.

"Dark and mysterious?" I asked skeptical. I looked around me. The trees looked just like all the trees that lined the road from my house to the town. The birds sounded exactly like the birds that flew over my house. The grass beneath our feet was the same soft green color. And of course the same sun burned high above our heads. "It looks like any other wood you might decided to walk through."

"But what about the shadows? And the strange figures in them?" he sounded legitimately scared now.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Figures?" I looked around me again. "It must all be in your head. Will you just remember that I have been here before. These woods are not cursed like everyone said. Those are just old folk tales told to children so that they do not get lost in the forest. They are not based on any sort of truth."

Jameson nodded at my explanation, but I could tell that he was not completely satisfied. He still looked a little skittish and I was afraid that anything would make him jump and scream. I was also afraid that he might throw the basket of food he was carrying. I did not want the tomatoes to get squashed, so I kept telling him to be gentle with it, but when he was scared he would swing it around without really thinking.

I sighed to myself and just continued down the path. I recognized a lot of the scenery and the farther from home I walked, the more I could remember about what had happened at the castle. It was strange. It was like deja vu. Almost like I was remembering a dream. Just then I saw the clearing through a small group of trees.

"There it is!" I exclaimed pointing straight ahead. I ran a little bit towards it.

Jameson followed quickly behind me. He walked into the field and said, "it really is quite beautiful. How could something so beautiful be hidden in such sinister woods?"  
I just shook my head at what he was saying. He was being so dramatic. It really was not like him. Normally he would be chipper and trying to make me laugh. I was getting a little sick of it. "The stables are this way," I said leading him to our left towards the stables.

We did not stop to look at them for very long. I wanted to go up to the castle and see Reginald and Mary. I did not want to stall and get caught trespassing again. I did not want Jameson to get into any trouble. He loved the stables and I promised him that we would be able to go back another time and see the horses. He loved horses.

Once the castle was in sight, Jameson gasped and said, "It is just like you said. It looks so old and destroyed from the outside. Are you sure it looks fine on the inside?"

I nodded at him. "Of course I am sure. I could never make up a story like that in all my life. It is much too strange and magical for me to just think about."

He nodded but did not say anything further. Jameson was behaving exactly like I thought I should have when I first came. He was very hesitant and distrusting. I was never that way. Looking back at it, I was very calm. Much more calm than I should have been. I was strange that I felt that way. I guess I never really got a chance to think about what was happening. I could tell that Jameson was thinking much more than he should have.

We walked up to the doorway in the front of the castle. Jameson was still acting strange. I think he might have lost his voice from fear. I hoped that once he met Reginald he would relax a little. If he was going to be this way the whole time, I would never get any work done.

I noticed that large knocker in the middle of the door and decided that would be the best way to announce our presence. Last time I did not have to do anything. I knocked it once. The knocker was a little heavier than I expected so I hesitated before I went to knock it again, but before I could do anything the door creaked open and Reginald slipped out the door in front of us.

He looked tired. Like he was worrying about something more than he should. He also looked almost thinner. Except that it was more of like his skin was thinner and not that he had lost weight. It was strange. And it made him look older than he did last time. Had it really only been a day?

"Reginald? What happened?" I asked startled.

"Roslyn? You came back?" he asked in response. It was like he did not even hear my question.

"Of course I did. I have produce for Mary. She said she wanted to try some of the food from my mother's garden. I had to bring her some," I explained. I hoped that would be enough for him and that he would not question me further.

He nodded. "I will take that. I will take it down to her in a little while," he took the basket from Jameson.

Jameson's face was one of complete and utter shock. He had not expected someone to seem so like a real person that he did not know what to do with himself.

"Who is this?" Reginald asked me.

Jameson seemed to snap out of it and quickly smiled. He looked just like the Jameson I was used to. Always happy and never letting anyone know when something was amiss. "My name is Jameson, sir. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Mine as well," Reginald gave Jameson a questioning look. "What are you doing here?"

Jameson grinned. "This young lady was determined to return to this castle and I could not let her wander the woods on her own. I came as her escort to ensure that she is kept safe from any harm."

I shook my head. Jameson sounded so formal and stiff. He did not need to talk that way. Reginald raised his eyebrows at me as if to ask if the young man was serious. I just shook my head a little smiling. I wanted Reginald to know that he was a friend of mine and it was okay.

"Determined?" Reginald asked me. "Why is that?"

I paused for a second. I was not really sure how much I should tell him. I did not want to tell him everything just sitting here on the front step of the castle. "Just some unanswered questions, I suppose." I decided that being vague was for the best. This was not really the time nor place to start questioning everyone about my mother. Besides, I was sure the answers were with the prince and I would have to talk to him to see what he knew.

Reginald nodded and seemed to accept that answer without too much trouble. He gave Jameson another funny look but did not say anything to him. "I suppose you would like to speak with Prince Wyatt then. He would have to extend an invitation for you to stay if you were planning on it."

I nodded. "I assumed just as much. How is the prince doing?"

Reginald's face fell. "He is morose as ever. I was hoping that your visit earlier would have lifted his spirits, but that was not the case. It just made him more melancholy."

Jameson looked confused that anyone could be that sad. "What is wrong with him?"

Reginald gave Jameson another strange look. He seemed to be much more suspicious of Jameson and did not really want to accept him here. "Nothing really. He just thinks that there is a lot wrong with him."

I shook my head, "Maybe it is because his manners are atrocious," I mumbled.

Reginald laughed a little, "It is more the other way around. When he was younger he was much more amiable. He always did the polite thing. Since he has become so morose and bitter his manners have suffered as well. I had hoped he would get past it, but that seems not to be the case."

Jameson raised his eyebrows, "It sounds like he just needs to grow up a little. If I did not know any better I would think you were describing a small child."

Reginald gave Jameson a sharp look, "Be careful what you say around him. He may be hiding from the world, but that will not stop him from using his power against you. He is still a royal prince in this kingdom."

This made Jameson pull back a little. I could see fear in his eyes and I was sure he was thinking about what kind of power the prince might have. He did not seem to want to say anything else in case he was about to get cursed.

I giggled just a little bit to myself and then said, "Can we go and see him. I would rather like to get that out of the way so then I can go down and see Mary. I want to make sure that I say hello. She was so kind to me last time."

"Of course," Reginald smiled. "Follow me."

Reginald opened the door farther and gestured for us to enter the room. Jameson's mouth fell open when he saw the inside. It was just as pristine and perfect as it was last time. I could see the thought whirling around his head as he tried to take in the sight. He did not want to say anything that gave away how uncomfortable he was, but he was shaking just a little bit and his eyes were darting back and forth all over the room. It was like he was trying to find a way to explain what he was seeing.

I followed Reginald up the stairs and through the hallways. This time I was able to follow where we were going much better. It was like I was remembering the last time we walked this way. Jameson had a shocked look on his face the whole time. He was trying to hide it so that he could be the strong protector that he thought I needed, but I could tell he was unsure of what to think about everything.

When we passed the throne room he gave me a strange look. I just shrugged my shoulders. I did not know why we did not meet with the prince there and I did not ask about it last time either. Jameson just shook his head. He had a smile plastered on his face and it was rather comical to see.

When we reached the room that I knew Prince Wyatt was in, Reginald told us to wait outside the room and he disappeared into the room.

"So what now? What should I expect?" Jameson asked me.

"The prince hides behind a curtain. I told you that," I said. "It is strange, but as for what he is going to say, I have no idea. We will just have to be as courteous as possible." I did not tell him about how I behaved last time. I was definitely not very courteous.

Jameson nodded and then took a deep breath to calm himself and brace himself for whatever might happen once Reginald left the room again. He was trying his hardest to seem brave for me. It was funny because I was not nervous at all. I had already gone through all of this once before. There was nothing to surprise me now. At least that was what I thought.

Reginald came out and said, "His highness would like to just speak with Roslyn first. Then I will send Jameson in after a few minutes."

I stiffened. "Why does he only want to see me?" I asked. Reginald did not give me an answer he just gave me a look that said that was just how it would be. I tried to relax. It must have been just because he knew me. He had seen me just a few days before. He just wanted to see me because of that. That was all.

I took a deep breath, nodded and then took a step forward.

"Hold on," Jameson said quickly and held out his arm to block me from walking into the room. "I refuse to let Roslyn enter that room alone. I must accompany her."

"Jameson," I said quietly. "It is going to be okay. You will come in just a few minutes after me. There is nothing he can do to me that you need to worry about."

"it is all just so suspicious though. Why are we supposed to go along with it?" Jameson looked at me scared. For a second I wondered if he was saying all of this because he did not want to enter the room on his own. He did not want to be left in the hallway with Reginald, but then I remembered that it was Jameson. He probably was concerned about my safety. He was always telling me that I needed to worry about myself more than I did.

"It will be okay. I can feel it," I said softly.

Jameson relaxed a little. He always said my instincts were good and I should follow them. He almost had too much faith in them sometimes. I was lying to him this time, of course. I felt nothing but uncertainty and fear, but I did not want him to see that. I wanted him to calm down so that he could actually think about what he was doing. He tended to rush into things without thinking when he was under a lot of stress. He lowered his arm and said, "Alright. But if you need anything, shout out and I will rush into the room faster than you can blink."

I smiled at him and reassured him by saying, "Of course. You are always there for me when I call." I should not have said it. It was giving him too much hope, but I knew that it was what he wanted to hear. I had to placate him to calm him down.

Reginald raised an eyebrow at me. I just shrugged my shoulders a little to tell him that it was nothing. I did not want Reginald to try and interpret what he was seeing. He shook his head the tiniest bit as if to tell me that I was a silly little girl and then gestured for me to enter the room.

I walked pointedly into the room. I did not want to hesitate at all because if I did, I might convince myself that I should just go home. The door closed softly behind me while I was looking around. The room looked exactly the same as it had last time. Even the curtain was hanging in the same place. I knew that the prince would be behind the curtain so I placed myself in a chair where I could look at the curtain without having to turn my head at all.

"Sir?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Roslyn? You came back?" The prince's voice was soft. The sweetness of it took me by shock again. It had been like pure maple syrup last time, but the memory must have faded because it was like I was hearing it for the first time again. It also took me by surprise that he sounded so unsure. Last time he had started asking questions before I could even get a bearing of what was around me.

"I did. I needed to," I said in response."

"Why? How?" Again he seemed so shocked that I was able to get to the castle. It was strange. I still did not understand why he thought it was so impossible that I was there.

"I came back because there are some questions I need answering and I came just as I did last time. Through the cursed forest." I answered truthfully. I had decided that this time I would not hold anything back from him. I was going to tell him about my mother and see if he could help me at all.

"But you remembered me?" Wyatt sounded like a small boy who had been left by his parents. Why would I not remember him?

"Of course I remembered. There were so many things that are unforgettable about this place." I said this and I was afraid that I might offend him. My tone was a little condescending. Like I was talking to small child who did not understand the world.

"Like what?" he asked. He sounded like he was actually curious.

I decided that being brutally honest was better than trying to hide things from him. And I was still unsure of how to handle this prince that sounded so unsure of himself. Last time I felt like I needed to fight back because he was so aggressive. This time, I felt like I just needed to let him know that he could trust me.

"Like the fact that the castle looks like it is faling apart from the outside but it perfect on the inside. The fact that the prince of the castle hides from the sight of others. I also found it strange that I could not see any of the working staff. That was odd. All of that was completely unforgettable." I said all of this with as little emotion as possible.

I heard him sigh then he said, "I just figured you would have forgotten it all. Everyone did before."

"Before?" I asked confused.

"When everything started," he said.

I was sure that he was about to say more when I heard the door creak open behind me. I turned and saw Jameson standing in the doorway, hesitating before walking towards me.

"Jameson," I said with a smile. "Come sit over here with me." I pointed to a chair next to me. Then I turned to look at the curtain again. I wished that I could see the prince's face to see what he thought about everything. "Prince Wyatt? This is my dear friend Jameson. He came today to make sure that I arrived safely. I hope he will be able to stay as long as you permit me to impose on your hospitality. It brings my family much comfort to know that he is here making sure that I am safe."

Jameson raised his eyebrows at me. I gave him a sharp look, warning him. I had no idea if the prince could see our faces and I did not want him to be offended because Jameson was not showing the proper courtesy.

"How long were you hoping to stay here?" the prince asked. His voice had a harsher tone now. It was like he was angry about something.

"As long as I need. You see, I came back because I am searching for something and I had rather hoped I would be able to find more out while I was here." I said trying to stay vague. I did not want him to feel like I was using him in anyway.

"It is very important to Roslyn. We would both be very grateful if you would let us stay for just a while. You would not even know we were here the whole time." Jameson said. He was smiling again thought I could tell he thought it was strange to address a blank curtain and not an actual person.

I nodded my agreement and was about to say something more when the prince said, "What are you searching for that is so important." It almost sounded like he was pouting and did not want to give us what we wanted, but that he did not want to stop me from something that I thought was important.

"You see..." I paused. I knew that I needed to tell him, but I was not really comfortable telling him. I was afraid that he might try to find her himself and that would just complicate things and make me feel even more guilty for bringing him into my troubles.

"It is her mother," Jameson said for me. "She went missing a few weeks back and Roslyn is very close to her. It has been hard for her to not have her mother around."

There was a long and uncomfortable pause. I wanted to say more, but I was not sure what could make the situation any better. Jameson looked over at me with a worried look on his face. I was sure that he thought I might cry at any given moment. I was a little annoyed at that thought. I was not that delicate. I could control myself. I wished that I could see the prince and know what he was thinking. Because I could not I stared at my hands, desperately trying to think of something to say.

"Why..." the prince paused. "Why would you think being here would help you find her?"

I hesitated. I did not want to tell him about what Mary had said in case he would get angry with her. She had just been trying to comfort me and not betray her prince. Although, I was not sure how it could be considered a betrayal, I was still wary of telling him everything. Instead, I decided to tell him about why I had come to the castle the first time.

"It is more of a feeling than anything," I said. I blushed a little at how simple that sounded. It made me sound like a country girl that believed in fate and magic. Of course... I was in a magic castle. "I wanted to go where I could to try and find her. She left without a trace and I had nothing to go on. All I could remember was a path that I used to walk with her on. It was behind our house. I followed it."

Jameson gave me an encouraging look. He reached out and patted my knee. His smile made me feel a little more confident about what I was saying.

"The path eventually turned into the cursed forest. I was nervous, but my determination to find my mother was stronger, so I pushed ahead trying to bite back my fear. Just as I was sure I was lost forever I came across your stables. That was when Reginald found me and brought me up to the castle. I stayed for a little while here, but decided to leave. You know all that," I said the last sentence because I realized I was telling a story to someone who had taken a part in it all.

"Continue," the prince said. He sounded interested, so I decided that I was not completely boring him.

"When I left," I paused again to gather my thoughts. I was not really sure how to word it. "I felt like I was giving up on my mother. That I was leaving her behind. I could never do that to her, so after spending a night with my family, I decided that I needed to return and find out why I had come here. I needed to know why it felt like I had abandoned her. I need to know."

There was a pause. A long one. Maybe I did not explain myself as well as I thought I had? I had no idea what to say. I felt like I had told him everything I could. What would I do if he said that we could not stay? What would I do?

"I am so sorry to hear about your mother. Do you know why she left?" the prince finally asked. It was strange question. To me, it sounded like he was just trying to find something to say.

"I believe that she did not leave on her own. She would never just leave without telling us about it," I said.

Jameson was still watching me with a concerned look in his face. It made me even more self conscious of what I was saying. I sounded like a little girl. A little girl crying for her mother.

"I am so sorry that I could not be more help to you," the prince said. It sounded stiff. I was not really sure why he was feeling so uncomfortable, but he was definitely uncomfortable about something. "But of course you may stay here as long as you need. My castle is here for you whenever. My servants are yours to use. I want you to feel as comfortable and safe as possible while you are here. If you ever need anything, you can always find me here."

I was a little shocked at his offer. Last time, he had not offered himself for the help. This time it was like he was trying his hardest to make it sound like he was the one taking care of me. It was strange. "Thank you so much," I said.

Jameson nodded. "Yes. Thank you so much. We will be no trouble for you."

"I doubt that," the prince mumbled quietly. I almost did not hear it, but Jameson must have also heard it. He stiffened and glared at the curtain.

Then Jameson turned to me and softly grasped my arm. "Come Roslyn. We should not bother his highness any longer."

I gave Jameson a confused look and pulled away from his hold. I did not like to feel forced into anything. "What is wrong Jameson?" I asked before I would move.

"He does not like me very much, I am afraid," the prince said behind me.

Jameson stiffened again. "And I am sure the feeling is mutual."

I gasped shocked. How could he speak that way to the man who was letting us stay in his castle. I glared at him and said, "Jameson!"

"Oh. You actually noticed that. Good." the prince said with a little laugh.

"Sir!" I said shocked at the prince.

"I am so sorry for upsetting you Roslyn. Please, ignore my poor manners. I never meant for you to feel so uncomfortable," the prince said to me. His voice was soft and kind again.

It was all so strange. Why did the prince feel so much contempt towards Jameson. I had never met anyone who did not like Jameson and I had never met anyone that Jameson did not like. It was so bizarre and I did not know what to think about it.

"Yes. I am sorry too Roslyn," Jameson said. "We really should be going."

I nodded then turned to look back into the room. "I am so sorry Prince Wyatt. Thank you again for letting us stay here. Have a good day."

"And you too Roslyn," he said kindly.

I turned and followed Jameson out into the hallway. Reginald was standing there waiting for us. He looked at our tense faces and grimaced a little. "I have your rooms set up. I will show them to you now."

I nodded showing that I had heard but did not say anything. I was so angry at Jameson that I was afraid that I would just start shouting at him. I did not want to do that until we were far away from the room that the prince was in.

Jameson walked silently beside me. It was as if he did not want to say anything either. I could feel his eyes on me though. He wanted something from me, but I had no idea what. It was like he was waiting for me to say something before he would feel safe enough to say something to me.

Reginald was talking about the decour as we walked. He was explaining about some of the tapestries and statues. He did not do this last time I was here. I wondered if it was because he felt the silence needed to be filled. He did not ask about what had happened in the prince's room. It was like he could sense that it was a forbidden topic.

We stopped in front of a dark wood door. It was similar to the doors of the room I had stayed in last time, but much less decorated. "This is where you will be staying Jameson," Reginald said nodding his head towards Jameson.

Jameson nodded in return and opened the door. He looked around a little bit but did not enter the room. He turned to Reginald and asked, "Where will Roslyn be staying?"

Reginald smiled and said, "Just down a few hallways. We are going there next. Would you like come?"

Jameson nodded and we all started down the hallway. We walked the same hallways and I was sure we were going to the same room that I had stayed at the last time. When we stopped in front of the door I knew that it was indeed the same room. I could see down the hallway to the kitchens and the door had the same intricate carvings.

Reginald gestured to the room and said, "This goes for you too Jameson. If you need anything, please just speak your need aloud. It will be done for you when you cannot see. The kitchens are down the hallway. If you need anything please just call for me or ring the little bell beside your door. Either will let me know that you need me. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask for it. It would be my pleasure to serve you in any way. I need to return to my other duties, so I will leave you here." He bowed and then quickly walked down the hallway to the towards the kitchens.

I smiled as I watched him go. He was just the same as last time. I wondered if he was going to go make sure our basket had made it to the kitchens yet. I hoped it had. I would have to go and see Mary soon. But first I needed to talk to Jameson.

"Would you like to see the room?" I asked Jameson. I tried to use as nice of a voice as possible. It probably sounded crazy though. I was sure that I was just going to explode at him at any moment.

He nodded but still did not say anything to me. His face was blank and did not hold his normal smile. It was a little concerning. I was not sure that I had ever seen him not smile for so long. He walked through the doorway and looked around the room. He did not look around very much though. I was not sure he had even really seen any of the room. After that he looked down at me. He just stared at me with a confused look. It was almost like he was trying to read my mind.

I had closed the door behind me when I had followed him into the room. Standing there staring right back at him and had to say something. No one was around so I did not have to worry about offending anyone. "What was that?" I asked quietly. I kept my voice as flat as possible.

"What?" Jameson asked taken aback.

"What was that? How could you talk to the prince that way?" I asked again. My voice was a little louder this time. I had a hard time keeping the anger out of my voice.

"He was the one who was being rude to me," Jameson countered. He looked hurt that I was getting angry with him.

"But I need him to like me," I said. "I think he might know more about my mother than he wants to tell me. I have to be on good terms with him if I want him to tell me anything."

"You do not need to worry about him liking you," Jameson grumbled.

I was shocked. That was not what I was expected to hear. He almost sounded jealous. "Is this what this is all about? You are jealous of him?"

"No," Jameson said quickly. Too quickly.

I shook my head. "This is all so ridiculous. This is why I did not want you to come," I mumbled to myself. But I had not lowered my voice enough. Jameson still heard.

"Really? You thought this would happen? Tell me. When were you going to tell me that the prince was in love with you?" Jameson asked harshly.

"In love with me? You have got to be kidding me," I said exasperated. "I was just afraid you would think that. I have never even seen the prince's face. How in the world could be be in love with me?"

"It is not very hard to be in love with you," he said. It was a compliment, but it sounded so harsh in the tone he was using. It made me feel shallow.

"Oh. It is? Well I thought maybe you were special. It turns out that you are not. It must be my charming personality I guess. Everyone just loves me so much." I was really speaking nonsense now. I wanted to argue with him, no matter what. This whole conversation was ridiculous.

He just groaned and turned away from me. He shook his head and sunk down into one of the chair in front of the fire. He hung his head in his hands and said softly, "You have no idea."

I watched him. My anger was subsiding. I was getting tired and I really just wanted to see Mary, so I said, "Jameson. You did not see me last time I was here. I hardly said a single civil word to Prince Wyatt. There is no possible way that he could be in love with me. Will you just let it go? We came here to find my mother. Once I find her I will go home."

Jameson looked up at me. His eyes were sad. "Come home with me now. We can go back and pretend like none of this has happened. We will start over and find something else to look for to find your mother. This castle just sets me on edge." He was pleading with me.

"You know that I cannot do that. I have to find my mother and there is something here for me to find. I have to find that." I said simply. I tried to be as kind about it as possible.

"I will even stop asking you to marry me so much. Please. Can we go home? I just want to go back to all the good times we had together." he begged.

I shook my head. "I have to stay. Please. You have to understand." I stared at him. I desperately needed someone to understand. I also knew that if I went home with him, he would think that it meant I loved him more. He would want to marry even more. He said that he would stop asking me, but I knew better. He was as stubborn as I was when it came to something he wanted. He would never just stop.

He sighed. Then hung his head again. After a few tense seconds he lifted his head and smiled at me, "Alright. If it is that important to you, you can stay and of course I would never leave you here alone."

I smiled back and him and said softly, "thank you."

He stood up and said, "Well, you should take me to see Mary. I want to see this cook who wanted your mother's produce so much."

I nodded my head and smiled. I knew that it would not be easy for Jameson to be here, but I wanted to see Mary so badly. I opened the door and let Jameson out before me. He waited for me to close the door and then we went off down the hallway towards the kitchens together.


	7. Chapter 7

"Mary!" I called as I entered the kitchens. Mary was busy stirring a pot at the farthest fire from the door and had her back turned towards us. She turned to see me and grinned.

"Oh deary me! Roslyn dear, you came back! I'm so glad." She smiled, showing more teeth than I thought was possible. Then she spotted Jameson standing beside me. "And who is this?" she asked me.

"This is Jameson. He is a friend of mine. He decided that he wanted to come with me this time," I explained.

"Friend?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"More if she would just let me," Jameson said with a grin. "It is a pleasure to meet you," he said as he reached out a hand to shake Mary's hand.

Mary took his hand and giggled a little. "You never told me about this strapping young man," she said giving me a pointed look. "How long have you know my dear Roslyn?" she asked Jameson.

"Almost a year. Though we grew up in the same town we never really had a chance to talk until recently," Jameson said flashing one of his better smiles at her.

I shook my head at the exchange. I had not really wanted anyone to know about Jameson's intentions, but it seemed like he wanted everyone to know now. I wondered if it was because he did not want anyone to speculate about me and the prince. He was ridiculous. I did not want to get married anytime soon. That was why I was telling him no every week. Why would I all the sudden change my mind because of a prince?

"Mary!" I said, cutting off their conversation. I did not want them to keep talking about me like I was not there. "Did you get my basket of vegetables and fruit for you?"

Mary's face lit up. "I did! Thank you so much!" She pointed to an empty basket in the corner. "You were right. Your mother is an excellent gardener. This is the best produce I have ever been able to cook with."

I smiled at her. "I hoped you would like it. When I was gardening after I got home I thought of you and I knew that I needed to bring you some. What have you made with it?"

Mary then went into a detailed explanation of all the dishes she had made. She did not leave out any details. It was almost like she was explaining it to a host before they were to serve it to their guests. She pointed to dish after dish.

"I hope I get to try some of these dishes," I said after she had told me about everyone of the dishes in her kitchen.

"Did no one tell you?" she asked me a little shocked.

I looked at Jameson to see if maybe he knew what she was talking about and I had just missed something earlier on. He looked just as confused as I did so I shook my head and said, "No. What are you talking about?"

"Why! I'm supposed to serve you dinner in the dining hall every night you stay here. Prince Wyatt asked me himself. He sounded like it was very important, so I get to create a delicious feast for you every night." Mary sounded so thrilled by the idea of cooking that much.

I shook my head in wonder. I would never want to work that hard. "You really do not have to do that," I said at the exact same time that Jameson said, "You mean I get to eat like this every night?"

He sounded like a little kid who just found out that his birthday was everyday. I laughed at his antics. He really was easy to please.

Mary looked at me in a way that clearly said that she wanted to feed me like that and there was nothing I could say to change her mind. Then she turned to Jameson and said, "Of course you do deary. We'll put some meat on those bones before you leave."

Jameson laughed. "Meat... more like fat. It will be wonderful. I know that much."

Mary nodded and said, "If you want to work off some of those treats you'll be eating, I need more firewood. You could go chop some for me."

I noticed that the wood pile near the door was already stack rather high. I gave Mary a questioning look and she just winked at me. I shrugged my shoulders and did not say anything to Jameson.

"Point me to it!" Jameson exclaimed.

Mary took him out a side door and pointed him to a stack of logs. There was an ax sitting nearby and he quickly picked it up and started to chop the wood into smaller pieces. He seemed to be enjoying himself because he did not complain or hesitate. He was smiling and whistling while he worked.

I watched him with admiration in my eyes. He was so easy going all the time. It was like nothing worried him. I wished that I could be so calm all the time. Even though I knew he was still upset about being here, he did nothing to let Mary know that.

"He's your sweetie then?" Mary asked me from my right side. I did not notice her coming to stand by me to watch Jameson work.

I blushed a little and said, "Not really. He asks me to marry him at least once a week, but I have not been able to bring myself to say yes."

She gave me a funny look and asked, "Why not?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I just am not ready to get married yet. It has not even really crossed my mind. Why would I say yes when there is so much I need to finish before I get married?"

Mary laughed. "You sound just like I did before Reginald convinced me to marry him. Well... I say he convinced me, but I knew I would say yes long before he ever asked me."

I looked over at her. She was smiling and her eyes were looking off in the distance as if she was reliving an old memory. She turned to look at me. "You never think you are ready until you are. Up until that moment, you tell yourself you could never marry someone. Then, suddenly, you're married."

I shook my head. "That will never happen to me. I will get married when I want to and on my own time. No one can force me to get married sooner."

"Silly girl," Mary said laughing at me again. "Come help me with this pie." She turned and walked back into the kitchen. I followed closely behind her and stood beside her as she pulled out some pie dough.

I rolled out some of the dough in silence. Mary was watching me when suddenly she said, "Why do you really say no to Jameson?"

I looked up in shock. I had told me my real reason. I had nothing to hide when it came to that subject. She looked at me and gave me a little knowing smile. "I already told you," I said confused.

"There must be something else there. It is clear you care for him. And he is persistant if he asks you every week. Why do you really say no? What do you think about when he asks you?"

I thought about it for a few minutes. "I guess I really just think about how it is nice of him, but I wish he would just stop asking. I never really know why though. I just wish it."

Mary nodded her head. "I figured. You just don't love him the same way. Is he too boring for you?"

"No!" I said quickly. "I have no need for excitement in my life. I like a good quiet life."

Mary shook her head and laughed. "Then why are you here silly girl?"

I was shocked. "To find my mother of course."

"I knew that. I meant why are you here, because most girls who want quiet lives would just act like there was nothing she could do. She would never go running around the woods and finding enchanted castles. Why are you here if you don't want adventure?"

"I..." I hesitated. I did not know what to say to her. I thought I knew what I wanted, but Mary was questioning all the ideas I thought I had. I was saved from answering because at that moment Jameson came back in.

"Where would you like the wood stacked?" he asked. He was little short of breath and a light sheen of sweat was across his brow. His eyes were sparkling with the joy of doing something.

"Over there in the woodpile," Mary said pointing to the already high stack of wood.

When Jameson noticed where she was pointing he looked confused. He looked at Mary and it looked like he might say something to her, but he decided against it and just shrugged his shoulders and went about carrying the wood inside.

"He's a doer, that one. He would not be happy if he wasn't doing something." Mary said gesturing to Jameson.

I nodded. "You are quite right. He always has to be doing something."

She smiled. "That just means I can use him to do my chores. It will be so nice to have him around to talk to."

"But what about the other staff?" I asked. "You said last time that you have helpers."

"Oh, right," Mary said quickly. She looked a little uncomfortable. "They don't really talk to me very much. Prince Wyatt always wanted silent servants so he would hire only those that seemed quiet and peaceful."

I shook my head in wonder. Prince Wyatt was so odd and I did not understand anything he did. "How did you get hired then?" I asked jokingly.

She laughed and nudged me with her shoulder. "His mother hired me. She loved coming down here to talk when he husband was busy."

"You knew her well then?"

"As well as anyone in the castle. She actually tried to get to know us. It was great working for her."

"Prince Wyatt does not get to know you?"

Mary shook her head. "He tries. He just never really had an interest in the castle or anything that went on in it. If he could, he would escape to his horses and be out all day. He is very kind though. He never does anything to make it hard for us here. It just gets a little quiet and lonely."

"He did not like being a prince?" I asked shocked.

"Still doesn't," Mary said simply.

"That is not very surprising. He is a bit of a hothead," Jameson said joining the conversation.

"Jameson," I said sharply. "You were provoking him. He had every right to speak that way to you."

Mary laughed. "He wasn't very open to you?" she asked Jameson.

"Not even a little bit. He hated me from the very first moment. I still have no idea what I did." Jameson shook his head in disgust, but gave me a mischievous look. He was telling me that he still thought the prince was in love with me, but was not going to tell just everyone that.

"You did interrupt us in the middle of a conversation. I was telling the prince about my mother. Perhaps he was just annoyed about that," I said trying to justify what had happened. I was not really sure why I wanted to protect the prince, but I felt like the animosity that was coming from Jameson was uncalled for.

"Perhaps," Jameson said with a look that clearly said he did not believe it. "I only entered when Reginald told me to. He said that the prince had told me to wait five minutes and then enter promptly. How was I supposed to know that you were talking so intimately." His tone was a little harsh and accusing at the end of his idea.

I gave him a harsh look. "Jameson," I warned him lightly. "He is the master of this castle. You would do well to respect him a little more."

Mary laughed. "Master of the castle," she murmured under her breath. "You really should tell him off more. It's good for him."

I looked at Mary shocked. Jameson laughed and said, "See? Mary agrees with me. He deserved to be talked to that way."

I shook my head in defeat. "You win. Just... be nicer from now on. Please?" I asked. I wanted them to get along. I still was not really sure why. I just felt like it would make my life better if they could just forget whatever jealousy they felt, if Jameson was right, and be friends.

Jameson looked at me for a little while. His eyes softened and he sighed. "If you want me to. Just remember that I do not like him."

"Noted. I will never forget that fact and I am sure you will remind me all the time." I grinned at him. It felt nice to know that he would not pick any fights with the prince. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

"Mary?" I asked. "How long until dinner is served?"

Mary looked around her at all the dishes. "Let's see..." she pointed to all the dishes and was mumbling times to herself. "About an hour," she said after a few moments.

I smiled at her. "Perfect. That gives me enough time to go and rest a little bit before dinner. You will be okay, right?"

"I survived without you before you came, I can survive now," Mary said cheekily.

I laughed. "Good. I look forward to seeing what you made with all of the food I brought you. I am sure it will be delicious."

Mary blushed a little bit and said, "Get out! Get out!" She jokingly waved her towel at me to chase me out of the kitchen.

I laughed as I left the kitchens. Mary had lifted my spirits again. I was glad that I had been able to see her. I had not been able to ask her about my mother, but I was sure that I would get another chance soon. It was not like I would have to go far to find her.

"I will escort you back to your room. Is that alright?" Jameson asked me.

I nodded and he took my hand and placed it on his arm just above the elbow. I hooked my hand around and let him lead me to my room. He did not say anything and I did not want to break the silence. He did not look down at me or anything. I was glad that it was not that long of a walk. If it had been much longer, it would have started to get very awkward.

Once we were in front of my room we stopped walking. I turned to opening my door, but Jameson grabbed my arm and turned me to look at him. I hated when he did that, but I did not fight him this time. It was clear that he wanted to say something to me.

"I am going to go to my room and freshen up," he said.

I raised my eyebrows. That was it? He had nothing else to say? I nodded and said, "Of course."

"I will see you at dinner," he said very simply. It almost seemed forced. It was like he wanted to say something else, but could not bring himself to say it.

"Of course," I said again. I did not know what he wanted me to say.

"Roslyn," he said my name with much more emotion than I liked. It made me uncomfortable. It reminded me of all the times he had asked me to marry him. I thought about what Mary had said, but all I could really think about was how I did not want him to ask. I did not want to say no. I wanted it to be over. I still did not know why. It was just something that I felt. "Don't go anywhere. Stay in your room." He said all of that like he was talking to a young child.

I was about to say something back. I was going to argue with him that I was an adult and that I could decided things for myself. I was going to tell him to not treat me like a child and to not tell me what to do. I was going to say all of those things, but I never got a chance.

"Be safe," he murmured softly. It was filled with all of the emotions I had seen on his face before. His eyes were intense and filled with the look he got whenever he talked about love to me. He reached forward and placed his hand on my cheek.

I blushed in shock. He had never touched me like that before and I did not know how to respond. I was about to reach up and take his hand off when he brushed his hand along my jaw while turning away. He was gone before I could say anything to him.

I stood shocked for a few moments. I did not like this side of Jameson. It was like coming to this place had made him feel like he needed to let me know even more how much he loved me. It made me shudder just a little bit. He was my friend. I enjoyed being around him. Why did I feel so repulsed by marrying him? There had to be some reason.

I eventually gained control of my body and was able to turn and enter my room. I walked in and looked around. It was exactly as I had left it except that a wardrobe was open in the far left corner. It was filled with gorgeous dresses in so many different colors. Blue, green, red, and yellow. The dresses were finer than anything I had seen before. They reminded me of the dress that Katrina always wanted to wear. We would go to town and she would see these kind of dresses in the windows of the shops and she would always murmur to herself that she would soon be able to buy one.

A few feet away from the wardrobe was a tub filled with steaming water. There was a small table filled with soaps and oils. On it was a small blue vase. In the vase was a small pink rose. It looked like one of the roses from the garden that I had seen from the window the last time I had been here. Below it was a note.

Roslyn,

Please take these gowns and enjoy them. They were my mothers and I would

enjoy seeing them used again. They are quite beautiful and I think they should suit you

very well.

Yours,

Wyatt

He did not sign his name with a title like I would have expected a prince to do. I ran my finger over his name, then turned to look at the dresses. They looked so much more beautiful knowing that a princess had worn them.

I smiled to myself and decided I would take a bath and relax. After that I would decide what to wear to dinner. Before I started getting cleaned up, I picked up the rose and smelled it. A wonderful fragrance filled my entire being and it reminded me of my mother. That scent stayed with me for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

I sat at the table and marvelled at all of the glorious food around me. I had decided to wear a pretty yellow gown from the wardrobe and I was playing with the material under my fingers. I was looking around and trying to decide how I should act. I did not remember ever having such a glorious feast before. I was not entirely sure what to do.

Jameson sat across from me and he looked just as uncomfortable as I did. He however did not gawk like I did. He simply sat staring at me. It was like he was trying to say something to me, but was not able to get himself to say it.

There were two chairs on either side of me and two chairs on either side of Jameson and then a chair at each end of the table. The end to my right had a magnificent chair. It was almost like a throne. It was made of dark wood that matched the table and had a cushion made of a deep purple color. It looked very comfortable. I assumed that was where the prince would be sitting.

"Will the prince be joining us?" I asked Reginald who was standing just off to my left.

He shook his head at me, "I am afraid not, miss. He does not like to be see. He will take his meal in his chambers."

"Oh," I said. I was a little disappointed, even though I knew I should not be shocked. He had not shown himself to us yet, why would he do it just for dinner? "He does not have to do that. We can eat in another room if this is where he normally eats."

Jameson looked at me wide-eyed. I could tell that he did not really agree with what I was saying, but he did not say anything to disagree. Reginald laughed and said, "It is no problem at all. He has not had a meal in this dining room for at least two years. He was never a fan of formal dinners."

I nodded my head as if I understood, but really I was confused by this. The more I heard about Prince Wyatt the less I understood him. He did not like any of the things I always thought a prince would enjoy. He was definitely odd, but instead of making me nervous, it intrigued me. I thought about it for just a few seconds when Reginald said, "Please. Eat. Mary would be sad if all of this food went to waste."

Both Jameson and I nodded and started to dish up our plates. I quickly went for the dish of corn pudding. It was one of my favorites growing up and this one looked so fancy and tasty. It had sprigs of rosemary sitting on the top giving it a classy look. Then I dished up a large portion of what looked like a pork roast and potatoes. I topped it off with a scoop of fresh salad. I recognized the radishes and carrots in it. They were from our garden. As was the peas in another dish.

I smiled as I ate. All of the dishes were delicious and I was sure it all because of Mary's skill. Eating all of the foods that I recognized from the garden made me miss my mother though. It was hard for me to eat it, knowing that she was not at home tending to the plants. I hoped that Annalee would remember to take care of the garden. I did not expect my father or Katrina to do any of the work, but surely Annalee would remember how important it was.

"This is all so wonderful. Your mother's produce with Mary's cooking skills makes a meal that I just cannot stop eating," Jameson said.

I laughed. He had a fork in one hand and a knife in the other and I was impressed that he had stopped to say anything at all. He had a look of pure joy on his face and kept dishing more food onto his plate. I was sure that he did not normally have table manners like that, but we had a long day and I was sure that he was hungry. He probably ate so much more often than I did, and we had skipped lunch in our haste to get to the castle.

I nodded my agreement with him and said, "It really is marvelous. I wish Annalee could taste some of this. She would love the corn pudding just as much as I do."

Jameson made a face at me. "Corn pudding? That is the dish you like the best?"

"Of course. It has always been my favorite," I said matter of factly.

"I would probably have to say the roasted potatoes are my favorite. I could eat potatoes all day long," Jameson said with a dreamy look.

I laughed at him just a little. He could really act like such a simple child. It was hard to believe that this silly man was the man always fighting for my attention and trying to take care of me. I smiled at him fondly. I really was glad that he was here. It made it so much easier to relax, even if he did annoy me from time to time.

After we had eaten our fill of dinner, the table was cleared by Mary and Reginald. Then Mary brought in the more beautiful cake I had ever seen. It was frosted with a fluffy white frosting and all around were thin slices of oranges. The oranges were so thinly sliced that it was more like looking through glass that was shaped and colored to look like orange slices. Drizzled on top was a thin caramel sauce. It looked so divine.

"Mary! That is so beautiful!" I exclaimed. Jameson just bobbed his head in agreement.

"Thank you. I picked the oranges from the orchards here. This is my favorite cake to bake," she said with pride. Her face was just glowing at seeing how thrilled we were to be eating her food.

She dished up two plates with large pieces of the cake on them. The cake itself was white and there was a bright orange filling between the three layers of the cake. I took a small bite at first. I did not want to be overwhelmed by flavors. It was delicious. It had a sweet and soft orange flavor with hints of butter and vanilla. It was the best cake I had ever tasted in my life. I ate the rest of the slice quickly, even if I was completely stuffed.

Jameson was just as thrilled by the cake. He even asked for a second piece. Mary laughed and cut him a considerably smaller piece and placed it on his plate.

"And for you dear?" she asked me, smiling.

I shook my head and laughed. "I could not possibly eat another bite, even though I want to. It was just all so delicious. I ate much more than I should have."

"Good. Just as I like to hear," Mary exclaimed.

I shook my head in wonder and said, "I hope we are not going to eat like this every night. I will not fit into any of my gowns eating like that."

Jameson agreed with me, "I have to loosen my belt already." He leaned back in his chair and sighed.

Mary laughed a little. "No. It will not always be like this. I made is extra special tonight. You will get used to it eventually."

Reginald nodded behind her. "Soon you will get better at eating only enough and not stuffing yourself. I had to train myself the first time I ate her cooking too."

Mary blushed a little at the praise and started to clean up. She busied herself with clearing plates and wiping the table down.

Jameson and I decided that we should not stay very much longer. I wanted to get to sleep and Jameson said he wanted to look around a little more. He walked me back to my room and said goodnight. He did not do any awkward overly emotional things this time and I was grateful for that.

When I looked around my room I noticed a beautifully wrapped box on the table. Curious, I walked over to it and saw a note on top.

Roslyn,

This is one of my favorite books. I thought you might like to read it when you get a

chance to relax.

Yours,

Wyatt

He left me another gift. I raised my eyebrows in wonder and thought about all that Jameson had said. This had not happened at all the last time I had stayed here and I wondered what had changed this time. I would have to talk to the prince again sometime soon and see if he did know anything about my mother.

I slowly unwrapped the ribbon bow wrapped around the box. It was a beautiful green color. It reminded me of the plants in my mother's garden. Bright but naturally beautiful. I opened the small box and saw a small novel bound in leather. I lifted it from the box and read the title. Fairy Tales of the Land. I laughed a little to myself. I never did believe in fairy tales. We had heard many stories of curses and spells in other kingdoms, but I had never really read any type of book telling those stories.

It made me a little uncomfortable because now that I had seen magic first hand, I was not entirely sure what it would be like to read about it. Would that make it all too real? I did not know, but I was touched at how thoughtful the prince was being. I decided to read a little before I went to bed.

I dressed in a nightgown and tucked myself into the covers. I read the first story in the light of the fire. It was the story of Cinderella. It was all about a girl and a shoe. There were times I laughed and times I cried. It was all so real to me now. I could tell that now. I finished the story and thought about reading another, but while I was thinking about it I fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

I was in a field. A field like the one near the stables. It was filled with flowers of every kind. It was beautiful, but i felt like I should not have been there. It felt like something was watching me.

I looked around trying to find the source of my discomfort, but I could not find it anywhere. The trees around me all looked just like normal trees. The flowers below my feet swayed in the light breeze. A few birds chirped and flew above my head. It was completely normal.

I decided that I would pick a bouquet of the flowers. Annalee would love to have the flowers in a vase. She would probably put it in the old milk jug and set it in the sitting room. She loved the smell of fresh flowers. I picked a few pink ones and then a few purple ones. Those were her favorites. Then I noticed some daisies a few feet in front of me. They were my favorite. I loved the contrast between the white of the petals the yellow of the center. I picked five or six. I now had a decent amount of flowers and decided that I should head back home.

I stood up from the field and looked around. I frowned. I did not know which way was home and I could not remember how I had gotten here. That was when I noticed the woman standing at the edge of the forest to my left. She was too far away for me to make out any details about her. I tried to get a closer look and started walking towards her.

The closer I got the harder it was to see her. It was like she was blurring before my eyes. It was strange and I did not know what to do. I start running towards her, afraid that she might disappear completely. All I could make out was bright red hair. It had to my my mother. It had to be.

"Mother!" I called out to her and I ran towards her, but I could hardly see her now. She had faded so much.

"Roslyn. Keep looking Roslyn. Keep looking," her voice sounded so far away.

"Mother! Wait!" I called to her and then I could not see her at all. She was gone and I was still standing in the middle of the field. I was holding a bouquet of flowers, but all the flowers in the field had gone as well. I fell to the ground sobbing.

"What do I do? What do I do?" I asked myself over and over again. I was rocking in place. with my head in my hands.

Suddenly I found myself in a large four poster bed. It had dark curtains. The book I had been reading was placed on the side table, the curtains had been pulled around my bed and the fire had been stroked down. Someone must have entered my room once I was asleep and taken care of all of those things.

I lifted my hand to my face. It was shaking. I felt my cheeks and they were wet with tears. I thought about what I had just dreamed. I was not really sure what to think about it. The dream had felt so real. It was like I had really lost my mother.

I sat up and looked around me. I needed to do something, but I did not know what. I pulled back the curtain a little ways and noticed that it was still dark outside. I could not go wandering the castle now. I had no idea what could happen in an enchanted castle. It would only scare me further if I decided to walk around.

I laid back down and closed my eyes. I thought about what I had seen and heard. I had definitely seen my mother. I was sure of that. Even if I could not see the freckles on her face or her smile as she talked to me, I knew it was her. There was no question about that.

She had told me to keep looking. Did she think I would give up? Wait. This was not really my mother. This was just a dream. I was afraid I would give up? Was I afraid that Jameson might convince me to leave? Maybe. But what I really wanted to do was see my mother again. Nothing could be as important to me as that was.

I took a few deep breaths. I did not need to scare myself because of a strange dream. It was just a dream after all. There was no need to get worked up about it.

I kept repeating this to myself as I lay in the covers and tried to fall asleep. Eventually sleep overcame me and I was lost in a world of dreams that did not scare me like that.

I woke in the morning feeling stiff and tired. It did not really make sense to me. Why would I feel tired after sleeping all night long? I just got out of bed and stretched a little. I hoped that the more I moved around, the better I would feel. It worked a little. After a few minutes I felt ready to take on the day.

I noticed that the table on the balcony had been laid out with the most magnificent breakfast. Fancy rolls were in a basket. There were four different kinds. One looked like a braid. Another was tied into a simple knot. My favorite was twisted into a swirl and then there was a simple biscuit. There was a platter of fruit too. It has slices of apples, oranges, bananas and some purple fruit that I was not sure what it was. I few slices of cheddar cheese were laid out beside the fruit.

I gladly started eating it. I tried a piece of the purple fruit. It was tart but still sweet. The peel was where most of the flavor was. The flesh of the fruit was soft and did not have very much taste to it. I did not really like it so I mainly ate the apples and oranges. I tried a little of all four rolls and decided that the swirl and the braid were my favorites. I ate them with cheese and a little of the raspberry jam that was in a jar in the center of the table.

I drank a cup of tea and just sat looking out over the grounds of the castle. It was so strange to see them in such disarray when the room I was sitting in was so pristine. It more intrigue me more than anything now. It no longer scared me like it used to.

After I was finished and felt completely awake and went to the wardrobe to see if there was anything appropriate to wear during the day. There was a simple blue frock. It did not have any frills or ruffles. It was made of soft cotton, but seemed like it was sturdier than the rest of the gowns which were all made of silk or some sort of sheer material.

I quickly put the blue dress on and then pulled my boots on. I was going to go and find Jameson and see if he wanted to see the horses. I knew that he would like that and maybe after that he might actually like to stay. I did not want to have to argue with him all of the time because he wanted to go back home and search somewhere else for my mother.

Once I was ready for the day, I opened my door and stepped out. I almost ran into Reginald because I was not expecting me to be there. He was standing outside my doorway waiting for me to leave my room.

"I am so sorry," I said embarrassed.

"It is quite all right," Reginald said with a smile. "I did not mean to startle you."

I smiled back at him. "Was there something you needed to tell me?"

"Yes," Reginald said. "I was told to tell you that His Highness would not be available today. He wanted me to make sure that you were busy doing anything you wanted to do and he wanted me to make sure you knew that he was sorry that he could not speak with you today."

I was a little shocked. I had hoped to speak with the prince today, but I had not told anyone that. "How did he know I was going to try and see him today?"

Reginald just shrugged. "I cannot be sure. It just seemed more like he had hoped you would want to see him."

I smiled a little smile. "This is his castle I am staying in I suppose."

He nodded. "Was there anything else you wanted to do today?"

"Oh yes," I said quickly. "I was going to ask if it was possible for me to take Jameson down to see the horses in the stable. He loves horses very much and I am sure he would love the opportunity to see these ones."

He looked a little shocked at the request. "You only want to see them? Not ride them?"

I gasped a tiny bit in anticipation. "You mean we could ride them? I had not even began to hope that I might get to ride one of those beautiful horses."

Reginald laughed at my expression. "Of course you can ride them. Prince Wyatt loves his horses and he would be glad to know that someone else appreciates them. He is always trying to get me to go riding with him. I am afraid that I am not very good and horseback riding though."

I smiled and said, "This is such wonderful news. Do you know if Jameson is awake yet? I would like to tell him about this."

Before Reginald could answer a voice behind me said, "I am right here. I have been awake for quite a while and was just coming to see if you were ready for the day yet."

I turned around and Jameson was standing in front of him, just a few feet away. He was wearing different clothes than before. I did not think that he had packed any other clothes in his bag and wondered if the prince had also provided Jameson with a wardrobe filled with clothes. I did not ask him though.

I liked these clothes he was wearing. He was wearing a pair of leather britches. There were a dark brown color, like the color of wood bark. He had a dark green tunic on that made his eyes look even greener. Over the green tunic was a vest of the same leather. He looked like he was ready to go out and explore the woods.

"Did you hear about the horses?" I asked Jameson, excited.

He gave me a questioning look and asked, "Horses?"

"Reginald just told me that we can go and ride them. I wanted to show you them from the beginning. Remember?" I wanted him to be excited about it. I thought that if he could just find something he liked about the castle, he would be okay staying here.

He smiled at me. "How could I forget? You told me about how they were the finest horses you had ever seen. We get to ride them?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes! It is so wonderful. I just think today is going to be great," I said all of this with a lot of enthusiasm. "Maybe we could get Mary to pack us up a lunch and we could go for a ride and eat a picnic somewhere." I looked off into the distance as I thought about all the plans I could make to make this day the best.

Reginald laughed at how excited I seemed. "I will go down and ask her now. You can go down to the stables whenever you like and I will be sure to bring you down your basket of food."

"Thank you so much," I said and Jameson voiced his thanks also.

We started to walk down to the front entrance of the castle. As we walked I talked about the plans for the day. "I was so glad when Reginald said we could ride the horses. That means this day will be so much better than I thought. I thought we were only going to be able to see them and I had no idea what we were going to do after that." I was telling him about how I had asked if it would be alright.

Jameson listened to my story without complaint and did not tell me about how I was rambling. He usually pointed this out to me, but today he just smiled and listened. I liked it and was glad that I was able to talk without him trying to turn the conversation to something he wanted to talk about instead.

"We can pick some of the flowers in that field too. I would love to take some back to my room so that I could smell them anytime I wanted to remember something beautiful," I imagined it and smiled to myself.

"Roslyn," Jameson eventually said. "This all sounds so wonderful, but what about your mother?"

I blushed a little because he asked me the one question I had not wanted him to ask. I had been asking myself that for the last month everyday. And just this one day I had hoped to escape from my guilt. I wanted to feel free again. My dream the night before had scared me. It made me nervous and I was not really sure why. I wanted to escape the pain that dream had caused. And, because of the prince saying he was gone, I had hoped that would not have to worry about it.

I grimaced as I said, "Prince Wyatt is unavailable today. I will not have an opportunity to speak with him again until tomorrow. There really is nothing I can do today." I sounded strange, even to myself. My voice was flat and emotionless.

"Roslyn?" Jameson asked concerned. He must have noticed that something was wrong.

"It is nothing," I said trying to reassure him. Even to me it sounded empty though. It was more like I was trying to tell myself that so I could stop worrying.

"Are you sure? We could find something else to do. I really do not need to see the horses today," Jameson said softly. He reached out to touch my arm. His eyes were filled with concern. It was hard for me to look directly in them. I did not want him to see what was really going on in my head. I did not want him to look closer.

"No. There really is nothing to do today and I want to see the horses too," I said. I put as much force behind it as I could muster. I wanted him to believe me. I wanted him to just let it be so that I could for a day, forget that I was worried.

"Okay," he said hesitantly.

"Thank you," I said softly. I did not tell him why I was grateful, but I wanted him to see that it was important to me. I wanted him to believe that I would be okay. I did not believe it, but I wanted Jameson to believe it nonetheless. I felt like I could not put any more pain and strain into anyone else's lives.

He nodded and then started to walk down the hallway to the front entrance. I followed slowly behind him, but eventually took the lead. I knew that he knew the way to the stables, but I wanted to be the one who led him to them. I wanted to be the first to see the stables and the field beyond them. I wanted to see the flowers still growing.

We walked in silence. I wanted to say something, but I did not know what to say. I was about to just start babbling about the weather when Jameson saved me from the embarrassment.

"What do you think Mary will pack us for lunch?" he asked, smiling at me.

I was grateful for this topic. It was light and would not lead to any of the things weighing heavy in my mind. "I hope it has some of the same breads as I had for breakfast. They were delicious," I said remembering how wonderful they had been.

"They were very good. I hope there is some of the roast from yesterday so we can make sandwiches. That would be delicious," he said with a grin.

"I had not thought of that," I said. "It would be very tasty."

He nodded. "Do you think she will have some of that cake in it too?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I bet it will. Or at least there will be some kind of dessert. No matter what, it will be delicious."

"Yes it will," he agreed.

We had walked past the front door by this point and we were heading down the hill to where I knew where the stables would be. I started to watch everything around me much closer. I noticed every bird that flew over my head, trying to see if they were like the ones in my dream. I also noticed that there were footprints going down in front of us that I did not recognize. They were fresh because nothing had trampled them. They were fairly clear. They looked like they were the size of a man's. Maybe they were the prince's. He must have left the castle earlier that morning.

When we rounded the corner to where we could see the field of flowers and the stables, I let out a sigh of relief. I had not realized how tense I had gotten, but my shoulders instantly relaxed and I felt significantly better. I had been afraid that the flowers would be all dead and my dream would prove to be real. This was not the case. The flowers were just as bright as they had been before.

Jameson looked down at me and raised an eyebrow at me but did not say anything. I was glad that he did not because I did not feel like telling him about my dream. I ran a little bit ahead of him and once I reached the stables turned to look at him. I waved at him and called out, "Hurry up! You have to see these horses!"

He laughed and started to walk a little faster. He did not run though. It did not take him long to get all the way down the hill to stand beside me. He reached in front of him and stroked the wood on the side of the stables.

"This is magnificently crafted. Look at all of these details," he said as he ran a finger over one of the carved roses.

"I know. It is an amazing building," I agreed.

"If the building is this grand, it must house some amazing creatures. I want to see these magnificent horses that you were telling me about," Jameson grinned and me and gestured to the insides of the stables.

I nodded and walked in. I did not stop at any of the first ten stalls. I wanted to get to the last stall and see Silverlight. He was the most beautiful horse I had ever seen and I knew that Jameson would appreciate it. I walked as quickly as I could and almost tripped a few times in my haste.

Jameson was laughing behind me. I could tell he thought it was humorous how excited I was about seeing the horses. From the sounds of his footsteps, though, he was not walking as fast as me. He was probably looking around at all the beauty in that building.

I got to the end of the stables and was immediately disappointed. Silverlight was not there. His stall was empty. I looked around and noticed that all of his equipment was gone. Maybe the prince had taken him when he left to wherever he went.

"Where is the magnificent silver colored horse that you told me about?" Jameson asked. He had caught up to me and was now standing to my right.

"He is not here. Prince Wyatt must have taken him with him," I explained. "This is his stall though. This is where I first saw him."

Jameson looked around. "It is clear that the prince favors him. His stall is three times as big as the other horses. And look at the grooming tools," he said pointing to the gate beside us. "They are made of silver. Why would you use silver tools for a horse? They would just get dirty and gross."

I laughed. "If you saw this horse you would be willing to do anything to make him feel special. He is that amazing."

Jameson shook his head in disbelief. "I guess I will just have to see him another time. I will only believe you once I see it. No horse can be that amazing."

"Just you wait. You are going to be just as in love with that horse as I am," I teased. I turned away from the stall and looked at the other horses. "I guess we should decide which horses to take out for a ride."

He nodded and started to walk down on my left. He stopped at every stall and talked softly with the horses. He would call to them and stroke their faces. They all came to him without any problems. It was clear that he loved horses and horses could sense that.

I decided to walk down the other side so that I would not be in his way. The first stall I got to housed a beautiful black horse. He was older and I could tell because he had white hairs growing in around his mouth and eyes. I looked up at the nameplate. His name was Victory. "Victory," I called out to him. He slowly walked over to me and gave me a hard stare. I stroked his face and talked softly at him. "You are beautiful. You must enjoy it here a lot. This is such a great place to be. Have you been here long?" I asked him even though I knew that he would not be able to answer. After a few more moments stroking him and decided that he looked a little old to take for an actual ride. I would have to take him out for a light walk later.

I moved to the next stall. This stall housed a paint colored horse. His name was Speckles and I never got close to him. He neighed and stomped on the ground and in general acted like he did not trust me. I quickly moved past him, knowing that I would not be able to handle a horse like that.

"Well. You are the prettiest horse ever," I said to the next horse as I walked up. Her name was Stamper. She was a deep chestnut color and her eyes were very gentle and kind. I fed her a few carrots before I moved to the next horse. She followed me along her stall for as long as she could, making me laugh.

The next two horses did not seem that exciting. One was very young and did not seem like he had been broken yet. He was spirited and jumped around his stall even though he did not really have the room. His name was Quickstart. The other horse was a pregnant mare. She was beautiful, but I knew better than to get to close. She would not trust me and I did not want to stress her out.

I was now back at the entrance of the stables. I thought about going down the other side and looking at the five other horses, but as I looked around I noticed Stamper watching me. I laughed and knew that I wanted to ride her out.

I walked back over to her stall and once I was standing in front of her she whinnied out of happiness. I stroked her face and fed her a few carrots, waiting for Jameson to be ready.

"Is this the horse you want to ride?" Jameson asked. He was standing right beside me to my left. I had not noticed him walk over to me.

I nodded and smiled. "She's so sweet."

He laughed lightly at my goofy grin and then pointed over his shoulder. "I am going to ride that one over there. Trance. He seems like a good steady horse."

I looked over to where he was pointing and looked at the horse. He was a light brown color. He had a white patch in between his eyes. He was pacing back and forth in his stall. It looked like he really wanted to get out and move.

"Great. When do you think Reginald will get here with our lunch?" I asked looking around.

"Soon. We should get the horses ready. If he is not here by the time we are ready to go out, we will just walk them around the field a few times until he gets here." Jameson said.

I nodded and turned back to Stamper. I looked at her saddle and bridle. I pulled them off the wall and laid them out so that they would be ready for me to put on her.

"Here girl. We are going to get ready now," I said softly as I pulled open the gate. She walked slowly to me and did not try to get out of the stall at all. I smiled at how well behaved she was. It made me feel a little more confident. I had ridden horses a few times, but I had always had someone there to watch and make sure that it was okay. I was glad that I did not feel like I needed to worry about whether or not I would be able to control Stamper.

I raised the saddle up and strapped it on. I made sure all of the buckles were done securely. I quickly added all of the other equipment and I knew i would need. It was harder than I had expected, but it all fit Stamper perfectly. It really was made exactly for her. There were no problems with anything being too big or too small.

Once I had finished I fed a small apple to Stamper. I looked around and noticed that Jameson was already out in the field. He looked so happy leading the horse out of the stables. This was definitely something he enjoyed more than anything else in the world.

I grabbed Stamper's reins and pulled on them to lead her out of the stables. She followed me closely and slowly. She did not pull on the reins in anyway that would make me nervous. I smiled thinking about how great this day would be.

As soon as I walked out of the stable, I noticed Reginald was standing beside the field watching Jameson ride his horse. He had a small basket placed beside his feet on his right. The basket had a yellow cloth draped over the top so I could not see what was inside.

"Reginald," I called to him happily.

He turned to look at me and smiled. "Roslyn. I brought you your lunch. It looks like you both are ready to head out."

I grinned. "Thank you so much. For everything," I said with as much emotion as I could.

He grinned back. "Mary wants you to know that this lunch is the best lunch she had ever packed. She said she would miss seeing you during the day today, but that she expects lots of stories when you get back."

I nodded. "Of course. How could I not tell her everything that happens?"  
He laughed. "She is that kind of woman, isn't she?" He shook his head. "I should also tell you," he paused and looked a little sad for a moment. "Do not leave any of the paths that we have. If you do, you could easily get lost. That would not be the best."

I nodded concerned as to why Reginald thought we would get lost.

"Also," Reginald added. "That path is off limits for the day. Another day you can go down there, but today it would be unwise." He was pointing to a path that went off on our right. It went directly into the woods and curved back a little to where it looked like it might lead back to the castle eventually.

"Why?" I asked curious.

"The Prince thought it best that you stay away from that path for a little while. I never really know his reasons," Reginald explained. He looked like he was not telling me everything though. It was almost like he was covering something up.

I shrugged a little trying to forget about my suspicions. It would not be very kind of me to question everything everyone did or said. I also wanted to not worry about anything today. "Alright," I said. "Is there a path you think we would enjoy?"

Reginald smiled and said, "I am so glad you asked. That path," he said pointing directly across the field, "is a beautiful one. It will eventually lead to a small beach. That is where you can eat your lunch."

"A beach? Next to the ocean?" I asked excited.

Reginald laughed lightly. "Of course next to the ocean. We are not that far from it here."

Of course I knew that, but I had not thought that we could ride to it so easily. "I have never seen the ocean before. What is it like?"

"Big. And blue. And wet." he said with a little smirk on his face.

I shook my head and laughed. "Of course."

"It is nothing like anything you have ever seen before. You will have to try and describe it to me once you get back. You will understand how hard it is to explain."

I nodded. "I will," I promised. "Is there anything else we should know?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. Just please be safe."

"I will. Besides," I said added, "I have Jameson with me. He would never let me get hurt." I laughed as I waved Jameson over.

Reginald laughed. "Of course not."

Jameson saw me and rode back to where we were standing. Once he was right in front of us he jumped off of his horse. "Is that our lunch?" he asked Reginald happily.

Reginald nodded and Jameson whooped for joy. He then proceeded to bundle it up and tie it to the back of his saddle. I noticed that he did this expertly as if he had done it many times before. Once he was done he turned back to me and asked, "Do you know where we are going to go?"

I nodded and grinned. "We are going to go down that path," I said pointing over Jameson's shoulder. He turned and looked then turned back to me as I said, "He said that it leads to a small beach where we can eat our lunch."

"A beach? Next to the ocean?" he asked. He sounded like a small child who was getting his biggest wish. I wondered if that was how I sounded to Reginald.

"Of course next to the ocean," I said laughing lightly.

"I have never seen the ocean before," Jameson said breathily.

"Me neither," I stated. "The ocean is so hard to get to with all the cliffs in our kingdom. And of course, it is past the haunted woods," I added as an afterthought.

"Mainly the woods," Jameson said nodding.

Reginald laughed at our conversation and then said, "Well. I shall be leaving you two then. Be careful and be sure to be back well before dark. Mary wants you to know that she is cooking a wonderful supper for you."

We both nodded and watched as he walked back up the path that led to the castle.

"Well, shall we be heading out then?" Jameson asked me.

I nodded then turned to mount my horse. Today was going to be a great day.


	10. Chapter 10

We came back to the castle just before the sun was going down. It had been a great day. We had gone to the beach and seen the ocean. It was just like Reginald had said. There was really no way to describe it. It was beautiful and so different from anything I had ever seen before. The blue and green of water made me happy inside. The salty smell in the air was something even more amazing.

We had sat on the beach and ate our lunch. We watched the waves go back and forth along the coast. It had been so wonderful. I could not remember the last time I had just let everything go and just had fun like we had that day. We had played a little in the shallows of the water. I found a beautiful shell that I was going to take home and give to Katrina. She would love it. It was beautiful and it would look wonderful next to all of her beautiful trinkets.

It had only ended when Jameson asked me to come home and marry him. Again. I was annoyed that he had to turn my fun day out into a day where he was in love with me. I had to say no and it had added just a little sour note to the day. Luckily, he had asked right before we were planning to leave the beach anyways.

He acted like it did not matter. He joked and laughed on the way back just as he normally would. What bothered me was I could see the sadness in the corners of his eyes. He was trying so hard to not let me see, but I could sense it. It was there and it was my fault. I did my best to joke with him and pretend that nothing had happened, but I was not as good at that as Jameson was. I would randomly gaze off into the distance and stop talking.

It continued like that the rest of the day. We were both trying to pretend like everything was normal. We got back to the stables and groomed our horses. We fed them and gave them water. Once I was finished I noticed that Sliverlight was back in his stall.

"Jameson!" I called to him. "Look!" I pointed to the end of the stables.

He turned and looked and then said, "Is that the horse?" He walked slowly down to get a better look.

I followed behind him slowly and just stood in awe at how magnificent the horse looked next to all the other horses in the stables. I watched as Jameson called him over and stroked his face. He was cooing to the horse when I noticed something.

Pinned into Silverlight's mane was small broach. It was silver and almost blended into his mane. It was a lily with a circle of leaves behind it. I knew that broach.

"I know what that is," I said as I reached out to touch it. I was in a strange daze.

"Of course. It is a decorative pin. Someone must have thought it would look good in his man because of the silver." Jameson said giving me a strange look. I must have looked half crazed to him.

"No," I said firmly. "I know where that came from."

Again, Jameson looked at me concerned. "What do you mean?" His voice was filled with fear. I must have scared him with my suddenly intense personality. I just never expected to find anything like that there.

"That broach. It was mine," I said softly as I brushed my fingers over the flower.

"Yours?" he asked.

I looked up at him and then quickly looked at the broach again. I was afraid that if I stopped looking at it, it might disappear. "I lost it. Years ago. I never thought I would be able to find it again."

"You lost it?" Jameson was repeating everything I said. It was as if he did not really believe what I was saying. It was almost too much for him to accept this too. He was already over his head in weird things. Now there was this.

"Uh huh," answered. "I lost it when I was eight years old. It was my favorite broach. I was so sad when I could not find it."

"But that was years and years ago," Jameson said.

"I know. Why is it here?" I asked. I knew that neither Jameson nor I had an answer, but I still felt the need to ask.

"Have you been here before Roslyn?"

I looked up at Jameson. He was looking at me with concern and disbelief. I could see the doubt in his eyes. He thought I was lying to him. "Not that I can remember. The first time I have ever seen this place was the other day. When I first found the stables." I explained. I wanted him to see that I was telling the truth. I needed him to believe me. I needed to believe it. If I stopped believing what I already knew then there was no way that I would be able to find my mother and stay in touch with reality. I was going to lose myself in the fantasy of this magic castle.

"Alright then," he said. It sounded like he did not really believe me, but knew better than to argue with me further. "Is it possible that this is not the same broach? It could just be one that looks exactly like it."

I shook my head. "No. This is definitely it." I wrapped my hand around it. The feeling of it was so familiar. "It was a gift from my father. He said that he knew the artist who crafted it. He never made more than one of any of his pieces."

Jameson gave me a funny look. "Artists always say that. That does not mean that he was telling the truth."

I looked at Jameson with pleading eyes. "It is the same one. See that leaf and how there is a nick in it?"

He bent forward to look closer. I moved my hand so that he could see clearly. One of the leaves had a small crack and a little of the metal was missing. He nodded letting me know that he could see it, but did not say anything. He just kept looking at it.

"That happened when I accidently dropped it into a salad my mother was making. She found it when she was chopping the lettuce and the knife hit broach. She was so upset at me for being careless. I cried and cried for days because of the knick. I was sure my father would think that I did not care about his present for me. I wanted him to know how much I loved it. This is the same broach." I explained. As I told the story a few tears came up into my eyes. I had felt so sad then. It was still a painful memory because it was when I first started to feel like my father did not understand me.

"Okay. So this the broach. Do you remember where you lost it?" Jameson asked. He no longer looked doubtful. Now he just looked confused.

I shook my head. "I just remember being on a walk with my mother. That is it. I remember that on our way home I noticed it was missing. My mother said we could not go back and get it. No matter how much I argued with her, she would not let me go. We had to get home because it was Katrina's birthday. I went back later, but was never able to find it." I was trying to remember as many details as I could about where I had lost it, but I could not remember anything.

"You do not remember where you lost it?" he asked again.

I shook my head. "It is really strange. I can remember everything so clearly, except where it was. It is like it is just missing from my mind..."

Jameson laughed a little. "It must just be because it was so long ago. You should not worry. I am sure it has a simple explanation."

I nodded my head slowly, but I could not shake the feeling that I was missing something. That there was something I needed to remember. I slowly unclasped the broach from Silverlight's mane and placed it gently into my pocket. "We should head back up to the castle. Mary will want us to go to supper."

Jameson nodded. "We should get cleaned up quickly."

We walked back to the castle in silence. I was too busy thinking about everything that had happened that day. I knew that I had to ask the prince about this broach. He must have answers. That was my only hope. Tomorrow, I would ask him about the broach. I would tell him about my mother and he would tell me everything. I was going to make sure of that. There was no way that I was going to leave and not find out something about my mother.

I had to learn something soon or I was going to crazy. That much I knew. I vowed right then that I would do anything I had to to get the prince to talk to me. There was no way that I would let him hide behind his curtain.


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up with a resolve. I was going to do exactly what I had planned the night before. I had asked Reginald if the prince would be available today or not. He said that he was sure the prince would be available. I decided then and there that I was going to talk to him.

"Will you please make sure the prince knows that I will be coming to speak with him tomorrow?" I had asked him

I told me that I he would and I went to bed, not necessarily happy, but calm. Finally I would be able to do something and I might be able to find my mother. I got ready for the day and tried to make myself look as presentable as possible, but I just did not care that much about it.

After eating breakfast I sat on my balcony looking over the grounds. It was a beautiful day. I held the broach loosely in my pocket and tried to be patient. I did not want to go in already in a bad mood, but I also did not want to wait too long.

Reginald had told me that he would come and get me when the prince said it was okay to talk to him. I waited. And waited. I did not want to, but I did.

It was close to noon when I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," I called without turning to look. I hoped it would be Reginald, but I also thought it might have been Jameson. He had come by earlier in the day, but I had told him my plans. He was not very happy about it, but he decided not to fight with me.

"Prince Wyatt is ready to see you now," Reginald's voice came from behind me.

I turned quickly and gave him a little bit of a wild look. Now that it was time I was afraid that I would not be able to hold my ground. I clenched down on the broach and nodded my head. "Alright."

Reginald smiled and me and bowed me out of the room. I followed him silently. I felt like my mouth was full of cotton and my throat was dry. I kept swallowing to try and clear my throat, but it would not feel better. I felt stiff and awkward. I was still so unsure of how to act around the prince. I hoped that he would forgo his curtain so that I could talk to him face to face.

We walked the familiar way to the prince's room. I still thought it was strange that he did not meet with us in a throne room. I supposed it would be hard to put up a curtain in a throne room. We paused outside the door and Reginald gave me an encouraging smile,

"He is in there waiting for you," Reginald said. "Remember. He does not like being seen. He will be behind the curtain as he was last time."

"But what if I have something to show him?" I asked suddenly concerned about how I would let him see.

"You have something to show him?" Reginald asked a little startled.

"It is a broach I found. It used to be mine. I wanted to show it to him. I wanted to see if he knew anything about it." I explained a little plainly. I was so nervous now that I was not really sure if I would be able to say anything like I planned.

"You found it? Where?" Reginald asked.

"In the stables," I answered softly.

"And you are positive that it is yours?"

"Yes."

"Well, I can take it to him now if you would like," Reginald offered.

"Will I get it back?" I asked. I held onto it very tightly in my hand. I did not want to risk losing it again.

"I will make sure that you get it back," Reginald promised.

"Alright," I said softly. I slowly raised my hand and dropped the broach into Reginald's waiting palm. Once it left my fingers I felt a strange emptiness come over me. I watched as Reginald closed his fingers around it and then pulled his hand closer to me. Part of me wanted to reach out and knock it from his hand. I did not want anyone else to see the broach. I knew that this would not help me in any way, so I resisted and instead just watched quietly as Reginald turned and walked into the room.

I waited tensely. I stared at the door the whole time, waiting for Reginald to come back out. I held my hands tightly. So tightly that they were starting to turn white. I was even holding my breath a little.

The door creaked open and Reginald came back out. He had a concerned look on his face, but he tried to hide it from me by smiling really big. "I showed the broach to Prince Wyatt. He was intrigued by how you knew it was yours. You should tell him everything."

I looked at Reginald's hands to try and see the broach. "Where is the broach?" I asked softly.

"It is sitting on the table in the room. Prince Wyatt said you can take it if you convince him that it is yours," he said with a little bit of a grimace.

I frowned. "Do you think he will believe me?" I asked softly.

"You will just have to try your best. He is not really in an understanding mood right now. Just do your best," he said. He was trying to reassure me, but really, I felt more and more depressed the more he said.

"Alright. I guess I am ready to talk to him," I said after a long pause. I had to try and gather my courage and strength. I still was not really sure why I was so scared of him. I pushed open the door and took a deep breath as I walked into the room.

It was exactly as I remembered it. The chairs, the curtain. Everything. I saw my broach sitting in the middle of the little table beside the chairs. I took a seat in one of the chairs and just sat and stared at it. I was not really sure what to say, so I just waited until the prince acknowledged my presence.

"So. That is your broach? Why do you say that?" the prince's voice said from the direction of his curtain.

"It was mine until I lost it ten years ago. I had no idea where it was lost at," I explained.

"So you think it is the same one you lost." It was not a question. He sounded skeptical and that he believed there was nothing I could say that would convince him that it was true. "How do you know it was not just a similar one? If you lost it ten years ago, you might not remember it perfectly."

I shook my head and said, "No. It is the broach. It was very important to me. I would remember it anywhere. There is a knick in one of the leaves. It was made by my mother one day when she was cooking. I was so mad at her and she was so mad at me. I think it was the first time I ever really fought with her." I explained all of this calmly. I was sure that I sounded like a little girl who was about to cry, but I had decided that I was not going to hide anything from the prince this time. That was how I was going to get him to tell me about my mother.

"But I have had this broach for years. I found it in my stables. I thought it was one of my mother's. Are you saying that you remember being here before?" he asked. It was in an accusing tone and I wanted to fight back with him.

"No. I have no memories of this place," I said firmly. "It is rather strange. I remember losing the broach. I even remember searching for it. I remember every detail about that broach except for where I lost it. Why is that?" I asked the question a little hesitantly. I was not sure that the prince would know, but I wanted to try and see anyways.

"How would I know?" he asked back bitingly. He sounded defensive. It made me believe that he really might actually know.

"I thought maybe you would know why this castle is missing from everyone's mind. I want to know why you think it is so impossible that anyone could be here. I want to know why." I demanded. I was still staring at the broach, and it was giving me strength. The memory of my mother and the sadness I felt when I knew she was gone was fresh in my mind here in this room.

"Why would you want to know all of that?" the prince asked in a harsh tone. It was like he was trying to push me away with his harsh tone.

I laughed just a little. I had finally realized something. "Because you want someone to know. You would not have welcomed me back to your castle unless you wanted someone to know."

He did not say anything for a long moment. Then, "You are wrong. I have many things I would much rather keep hidden."

"If you say so," I said with a smirk. "I will not push you for that information today. You obviously do not want to tell me yet. But I want you to know, I will find out eventually."

He sighed a little and then said, "What makes you so sure?"

I laughed. "Because I always find out. And this is something that I really want to know. I have to find out about it."

"And why is that?" the prince asked. He sounded angry.

"Because I can never give up on my mother," I said simply with a little smile on my face. I wish I could have seen his face when I said this.

"Your... mother?" he asked confused. His voice was softer now, almost like I had surprised the harshness out of his voice.

I smiled. "Yes. I promised that I would find her. That search led me here. I cannot give up on her." I was being vague on purpose. I wanted him to ask the questions. I wanted him to search for answers, because then he would actually feel more involved in the story. I did not want to just tell him everything.

"Find her?" he sounded even more confused than before.

"About a month ago, she disappeared. With no note. No warning. Nothing. She was just gone. No one around me would do anything, so I vowed to find her myself. That was when I found this castle." I explained all of this with a little irony in my voice.

"How did it lead here?"

"I told you this the last time I came here. I was walking in the direction I knew that I would take walks with my mother sometimes and I saw the path in the woods. It clearly looked used and not abandoned, so I decided that I would follow it."

"But you left last time. You decided that this castle was not what you were searching for. Why did you come back?"

"Because I felt like I would find answers here. I felt like I was abandoning my mother as I left your castle. I was not okay with that feeling, so I knew I would come back and see why I felt that way."

"Have you found anything?"

I laughed. "Yes. I found this broach." I reached out and touched it again. "You may not want to believe that someone could just come by this place and maybe you are right. Perhaps I have been here before. What I want to know is if you know anything about my mother."

The prince did not respond for a few long seconds. I had a hard time keeping silent. I wanted to keep asking him what he knew, but I was afraid that if I pushed him too hard he would not want to answer my questions.

"Why do you think I would know anything?" he asked quietly. His voice was a little hoarse and it sounded like he was very tense.

"Because I feel it sometimes. When I talk to you, it always sounds like you know so much more than you are telling me. And then there is the fact that I was led here. There has to be a reason for that." I said the last sentence with as much conviction as I could muster.

Again, there was an uncomfortably long pause. I wished again that I could see his face. I hated not knowing what he was thinking. I wanted to see his reactions. I wanted to know what he was not telling me.

"Tell me about your mother," he eventually told me.

I stiffened. "Why?" I asked. What did he want to know about my mother for.

"Because. It sounds like you care about her a lot. I want to know." He sounded annoyed. Like I was being difficult on purpose.

"She is my mother. Of course I care for her," I said flatly.

"Please just tell me about her," I requested exasperated.

"Fine," I said sharply. I did not like the way he was talking to me, but if this was what I needed to do to get him to talk, then fine. I would tell him. I did not have to think it was fun though. "She has bright red curly hair. Her eyes are the same as mine. A light brown. She has freckles that cover her from her face to her arms. She is always smiling. No matter what." I decided to start with the physical traits. It was easier to think about.

I swallowed and tried to hold back a few tears that had found their way into my eyes. "She is my closest friend. No matter what happens, I know she loves me. She loves everyone." I stopped talking. I could not say any more. I was afraid that I would start crying aloud and the prince would know how emotional I was.

"She sounds like a wonderful person," he said softly.

"She is. No one is like her. No one in the world." I muttered to myself.

"My mother was like that too. Everyone loved her and she loved everyone. I think that it was impossible for her to do anything mean or harsh. Maybe it is just the way mothers are." The prince said this with a sad voice.

I was a little shocked that he said that. I was not really sure what to say. I was supposed to be telling him about my mother, yet here he was telling me about his. "Did she know exactly how to make you smile?" I asked eventually.

He laughed just a little bit and said, "Yes. Even when I did not want to smile."

I sighed. I missed my mother so much. I wanted to see her again. I wanted her to tell me that everything would be okay. I reached out for the broach again, but paused my hand an inch away from it. Prince Wyatt had not told me I could take it back.

"You can keep the broach. I have no use for it and it is clear that it means a lot to you," he said.

I turned and looked behind me. He was still behind his curtain because I did not see him anywhere in the room. How could he see me? "Thank you," I said softly as I reached for the broach again and held it close to my heart.

I held it so tightly in my hand that the pattern was imprinted into my palm. I looked at the imprint for a little while then said, "I think I want this broach so much because the flower reminds me of my mother's garden."

"Garden?" the prince asked startled.

I sat up a little straighter and looked over at the curtain. I wanted to see his face so much in that moment. He had to have a reason for sounding so shocked. "Yes. My mother's garden is the best in the town. Everyone comes to my family for food. My mother's always tastes the best. I help her in the garden all the time and I had to take over that job when she disappeared."

"The best in the town," he repeated. He sounded a little sick.

"Are you alright?" I asked. His reaction worried me. It was the same as when Mary found out that my mother was a gardener. It made me wonder if it had a connection to why she was gone.

"Yes," he said breathily.

"Is there some sort of connection between her being a gardener and her disappearance?" I asked pointedly. I wanted him to know that I was suspicious of his behavior. I wanted him to answer. I hoped that he would tell me something, but at the same time I was terrified that he would tell me something I did not want to hear.

"I have no idea," he replied nonchalantly.

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion and anger. He reacted when I mentioned her gardening. I was sure of it! "They why did you react that way?" I demanded.

"React in what way exactly?" he asked in a very condescending tone.

"You were startled when I said that she was a gardener. There was a reason behind that. What was it?" I demanded angrily.

"I was just startled to hear that your mother also gardens. My mother took care of the most magnificent rose garden." His voice was too calm. It was too diplomatic and the story seemed forced. He had acted afraid and nervous. That was not how you reacted when you found out that someone's mother also gardens.

"No," I said firmly. "That was not what was going on."

"What do you mean? Are you going to tell me what I was thinking then?" he asked harshly.

"You reacted as if that knowledge made you nervous and anxious. Tell me the real reason why. I will not be lied to," I said angrily.

"I will not explain my actions to you. I am a prince and the master of this castle. You cannot demand things from me like this."

I bristled a little at his comment. I knew very well that he was prince. I knew that I was staying here under his hospitality. What I did not like was the way that it sounded like thought he was better than me. It sounded like that made him privileged while I was just a common girl who had no right to demand truth.

"I will not be lied to. Even if I am a poor girl from a poor family," I ranted. "You may be a prince, but you have no right to hide information that could help me find my family."

He huffed and said, "Who said I was hiding anything?"

"I did!"

"And you know this, because?" he asked sarcastically. "Because you felt it. Do you base everything in your life on your feelings?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Do you base everything in your life on hard facts? Sometimes I just understand what is going on. Is that so hard for you to understand?" I had lost my temper. Completely and wholly. This entire conversation reminded me of the countless arguments I had with my father.

"I refuse to let you attack me and demand things from me based on a feeling. If you can actually find some proof behind what you accuse me of, then maybe I will answer your questions."

"Accused you? I have accused you of nothing!" I cried out.

"You accused me of knowing where your mother is!" he retorted.

"I never said that. I merely said that you were keeping information from me that could help me find my mother. I never even dreamed that you knew! But now that you say that, I have to ask it, do you know where my mother is?" I asked the question with a softer voice. I had slowly lowered my voice to the point where I was not even sure that I was talking aloud. His responses worried me.

"Of course not," he snapped back. "If I knew that, I would have told you that a long time ago. That way you would leave."

"Fine," I huffed. "Fine. I am obviously such a burden to you. I will leave you alone for the day. Have a good day." I said the last statement as if I wished for anything besides that. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to feel as awful as I did.

"Fine," he snapped back at me.

Without saying anything else, I turned on my heel and stomped out of the room. I knew it was childish. I knew that it was not very polite, but I was too angry to do anything else. All I wanted was to see my mother again. Why did this difficult prince need to cause so many problems.

Reginald was standing beside the door as I left, but I did not say anything to him. I just walked past him and went back to my room as quickly as I could. I was holding the broach tightly in my hand and I thought maybe I had cut into my palm with it.

I did not pull my hand up to my face to check though. I just walked. Reginald was calling to me from back at the prince's room. I just waved my hand at him behind me and kept walking. Eventually his voice faded and I found myself in my room.

I threw myself down onto my bed and let the tears finally come. I was so frustrated. I knew that the prince knew more, but I had probably ruined my chances of ever getting to tell me anything. What had I done? I worried about all of this until I fell asleep. I must have been exhausted from worry so much all morning.


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up in my room and it was dark. Someone had lit some candles in my room, but other than that, it was dark everywhere. I looked out the window. There was still a faint line of orange along the horizon and I knew that the sun had set not too long ago.

I sat up and stretched my muscles. I yawned and then froze. I remembered right then why I was so tired. I had been so upset. The prince had not given me anything at all to work with. he did not give me any information. I was so frustrated with him. I wanted to learn something so that I could just go home.

I looked around my room and contemplated what to do next. I figured I should go and find Jameson soon. He was probably worried about me.

My eyes fell on the table beside my bed and I froze again. When did those get there? I looked around. The flowers I had picked on our horse ride were in a vase on the table on the balcony. I turned back to the side table.

There, sitting in a beautiful blue vase was a bouquet of some of the most beautiful roses I had ever seen. There were a few red ones, a pink one, a yellow one and a bunch of white ones. I the white roses all had tips that were the softest pink color. I slowly stretched my hand out to touch them. I was not sure they were real.

The petals were soft as velvet. The thorns from the stems had all been removed. I stared at them for a few more minutes when I noticed a piece of paper folded in a beautiful star pattern. It was tucked delicately in the leaves of the roses.

"What is this?" I asked aloud as I reached to take it from the leaves.

My name was written in beautiful script in the center of the folded pattern. I recognized the handwriting. It was Prince Wyatt's. I groaned a little. Did he really think a few flowers would make it all okay?

I hooked one of my fingers under a fold and gently tugged. The star quickly and easily unfolded. It was masterfully folded. I had never seen anything quite like it. I took a deep breath before I opened it further. I was hesitant to see what the prince had to say. He really was not someone I wanted to hear from at the moment.

I slowly pulled the paper open so that it would lay flat. I held it in my hands for a few moments. I was looking at it without really seeing it. I did not want to read it. I was afraid, but I did not really know why. It was not the kind of afraid that made you anxious and want to run away. It was the afraid that made you uncomfortable and made it feel like your stomach was doing backflips inside you. I tried to shake the feeling, but I just could not do it.

Deciding that it was better to just get it over with, I started to read the letter. It was written in the same expertly penned hand and was written in the prettiest blue ink I had ever seen. It was dark blue and you could almost mistake it for black. It shined in the light. I took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds and then released it loudly. Then I began to read.

Roslyn,

I do not even know how to begin to apologize for the behavior that I showed today. It was entirely out of line. I should never have lost my temper with you. I am afraid that I have never been good at controlling myself when I am startled. My mother used to scold me all the time for this. Now that I am alone, I sometimes forget that I must still be courteous to others. You see, I so seldom see anyone that I do not know how to behave when I see them.

"When he is startled? What is talking about?" I mumbled to myself, and kept reading. I was hoping that maybe he would answer some of my questions in this letter. By now the fear was gone and was replaced with anticipation.

What you told me today did startle me. Everything about you really startles me, if I am to be completely honest. I am still baffled that you have found me and my castle and I am even more confused why you would return. I wish I could really talk to you about it all, but I am so limited. I am trapped in my own prison and no matter how much I might wish to escape, it will never happen.

What? He was trapped in a prison? He has a castle! He is a prince! He can do anything that he wants! I was furious with his statement. I was sure that he did not understand what true suffering was and I was sure that I would never give him my pity. He was just an arrogant man seeking for forgiveness. That was all.

And now you are probably thinking about how I do not know suffering. I hope one day that you may be able to understand everything that I have gone through. I do not expect you to believe me, but I wanted you to know that I am so sorry that I have let my life cause me to be so bitter that I would ever argue with such a lovely lady as yourself.

My intentions with this letter is to offer a bit of a peace offering. I am afraid that I cannot tell you where your mother is. That would be admitting to something that I cannot bring myself to face. I am sorry for my weakness. What I can tell you is that she is safe. She is as happy as she can be. You do not need to worry about her.

I stared at the paper. I read the words, "She is safe. She is as happy as she can be," over and over again. It was like my brain could just not quite understand what I was reading. He knew about my mother. This proved it. How was I supposed to deal with that. And he would not tell me where she was? Why? This was getting to the point of being ridiculous. How could one man be so infuriating?

I decided I would keep reading and see if the prince would tell me anything else. I needed to do something or I was going to exploded from frustration.

I know that this is not what you want to hear. I am so sorry. For everything. I need you to know something. I want to tell you. I truly do. It is just not possible for me to tell you right now. I am so sorry. Please. Do not stay angry with me for too long. I want to see you smile again before you leave. I will do anything to make that happen.

Your ashamed prince,

Wyatt

"He cannot possibly think that I can just forgive him that easily!" I fumed to myself.

I held the letter in my hand and I glared at it. It was full of hatred. This spoiled prince was telling me that he wanted to tell me about my mother but did not have the ability to. That was the worst excuse I had ever heard in my life. It just proved to me that he was even more selfish than I thought.

My stomach growled. I looked down at my stomach and grimaced. I had not eaten lunch because I was too upset from talking with the prince. Now, I was starving but I did not want to leave my room. I did not want to explain all of this to Jameson. I had no idea how he would react. I was not sure if he would go and demand answers from the prince or if he would try to convince me to leave. Either way, I did not want he to do anything about it.

What I really wanted to do was to ask Mary and Reginald about the letter. I wanted to understand all the vague hints that the prince left in his letter. I wanted to know so that I could truly be upset. I did not want to just be upset because I did not comprehend why.

A few minutes and stomach growls later, I decided that I needed to get food. It was not use just sitting here being angry. I needed to get out and do something. Eating was something I could do without thinking too much. Maybe I would be able to help Mary after dinner and I could get a chance to talk to her.

I stood up from my place on the bed, folded the letter and placed it in my pocket next to the broach, gave one last glare to the roses beside my bed and walked out of my room towards the kitchens.

Before I had entered the room I heard voices.

"She has been in her room all day. What if something happened?" It was Jameson. He sounded frantic and worried.

"She'll come out when she wants to. Don't push her dear," Mary's cheerful voice said calmly.

"I just want her to be happy," he said glumly.

"I know that. She knows that. Just let her find her own way. That is what will make her the happiest." Mary said all of this with a confident voice. I was shocked in how well she understood me.

"How do I do that?" he asked. He sounded a little desperate. Almost like he was lost and was asking someone how he could find his way back.

"Let her come to you. If you keep going to her she is just going to fight against you."

I bristled a little at what that comment meant. I did not fight against people. Occasionally I loved it when someone could tell what was wrong and came to me to help me. What I did not like was when I had to explain myself.

"How long will that take?" he asked.

"As long as she needs. You just need to be there for her."

He sighed and mumbled something that I could not hear. Mary laughed aloud. She sounded like something was truly amusing. "You really think that is such a problem?"

There was a pause. I assumed that he nodded or something.

Mary laughed again. "You seriously need to stop worrying about that. She is too headstrong for that to ever happen."

Headstrong? Was I really that unreasonable? What were they talking about? I wanted to know, but I also wanted to stop this conversation. I did not want to hear anymore. I was afraid that I might hear something that I did not like, so I stepped forward into the doorway.

"Roslyn?" Mary said with a huge smile. It was clear that she was happy to see me.

Jameson turned quickly from where he was slouched over a table and stared at me. "How long have you been there?"

I laughed just a little. "Not very long. I was coming down because I am starving. When are we having supper?" I thought that I did a good job of keeping my voice happy. I did not think that I had done anything to clue them into the fact that I was upset.

"We were just waiting for you. It's all ready whenever you want to eat." Mary said happily.

Jameson studied my face. I tried my best to not look at him and let him know that I noticed. He looked like he wanted to say something, but must have thought better of it because he did not say anything. He just watched me.

"Perfect. I am so hungry. We should eat now. Is that okay with you Jameson?" I asked turning to look at him.

He looked a little startled. "What? Oh yes. Dinner. Now. That should be just fine." He was having a hard time forming sentences.

I giggled just a little bit. "It sounds like someone else needs to eat just as much as I do. Did you skip lunch as well?"

Jameson shook his head. "No. I just was thinking."

"That must have been some intense thinking. You should be careful. You do not want to hurt yourself." I winked at him.

He blushed a little bit and mumbled something to himself.

I laughed at him just a little bit, then turned back to Mary. She was giving me a knowing look. It was like she could read my mind. I knew that she knew what I was doing. She knew I was faking being happy. I ignored it and asked, "Do you need me to carry anything in?"

She shook her head. "You two go on ahead. I will be right in with your supper."

"Thank you Mary. You are amazing," I said as I pulled Jameson's arm to lead him into the dining room. He was still a little baffled by what I was doing and did not seem to really be there with me.

I walked into the dining room and took in the sight of it. I was getting used to all the grandeur that was around me. I was no longer surprised at the beauty of the magnificently set table. It was just as it had been for all the other meals I had eaten here.

Jameson took his seat across the table from me and I sunk into my chair too. I smiled at him as he still watched me with a concerned look. I was determined to not say anything about it though. "How has your day been?" I asked.

He shook his head a little in confusion but answered me. "It has been alright. I was able to ride some of the horses again today. Reginald showed me around the castle a little bit. It has been rather uneventful."

I nodded and smiled as I listened. I was glad that his day had been so much better than mine. Before he asked me how my day had been I said, "I am glad you got to see around the castle. I have not done that yet. Perhaps tomorrow you can show me everything Reginald showed you."

"Of course," he agreed. He frowned just a little at how I had not let him ask about my day, but then decided to ignore it too. He smiled at me. "There is a magnificent garden to the east of the castle. You can see the sea from it. I will have to show it to you. I am sure you will enjoy it."

I smiled. "I do love gardens. Is it the rose garden?"

He looked confused. "Rose garden? Reginald did not show me any rose gardens. How do you know that there is a rose garden?"

"I saw it from a window once. Also, Prince Wyatt keeps sending roses to my room. I assumed that they were from that garden." I answered truthfully.

"He is sending you flowers? Why?" he asked jealously.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I thought it was just make sure I felt at home. I just thought they were in the rooms. Do you not have any in your room?" I knew I was lying. I knew that there would not be any in his room, but I did not want Jameson to think that it was anything romantic. I also did not want to tell him that it was because of an apology.

"No," he said flatly.

"Oh. Well. Maybe we can find the garden tomorrow and pick some for your room. They are rather beautiful," I said as nonchalantly as possible. I really wanted to find it so I could look around. I thought it was a little strange that Jameson had not noticed it or that Reginald had not shown it to him. From what I could tell it was most beautiful part of the castle.

"Alright. I bet it will not be that hard to find. The layout of the castle is actually quite simple once you know your way around," Jameson said. He was trying to make me happy by giving me what I wanted.

"Perfect," I smiled at him.

He smiled back at me, but did not say anything further. We ate our meal in a comfortable silence. We had both come to a silent agreement that we would not say anything that might upset the other person. I looked at Jameson occasionally and I realized that the silence was not so comfortable for him. He looked tense. I wanted to say something to make it better, but I did not know what to say.

We finished our meal and said our goodnights to each other. We promised that we would see each other in the morning and go searching for the rose garden. I decided to not talk to Mary that night. I needed a night to sleep on what I had learned. Then I would know exactly what I would ask. I went to be looking forward to the next day.


End file.
